The Sydney Orbital Network is a 110 kilometre[1] motorway standard ring-road or orbital around the city of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales in Australia. Planning for this beltway, orbital or ring road began as early as 1962 under the "county of cumberland scheme" (CCS) and well talked about as far back as 1944. Then from 1973 to 1989 things started to take shape with new sections opening-up and then further advancing by 1999. In 2007, the Lane Cove Tunnel opened, completing the orbital network. It runs north from Sydney Airport, underneath the CBD to the North Shore, west to the Hills District, south to Prestons and then east to connect with the airport. Much of the road is privately-owned and financed by tolls.
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The 110 km Sydney orbital consists of several motorways and freeways, they are listed below:
The major sunken/underground sections of the orbital are:
The major elevated sections are:
The widest part of the orbital is the Warringah Freeway approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the longest tunnel is the M5 East tunnel, and the largest interchange is the Light Horse Interchange between the M4 and M7. It would cost over $30AU to take the whole orbital without exiting once. The average width of the Orbital is 2 lanes (most of the M5, M7, Lane Cove tunnel and M2 is two lanes).
The Sydney Orbital Road Network consists of a number of roads built by private companies: tolling is unavoidable when using the road network.
| Road | Direction | Toll Collection Method | Toll Pricing | Price | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Distributor | Northbound | Electronic / Cash | Flat rate | $5.00 | Airport Motorways |
| M5 South Western Motorway | Both | Electronic / Cash | Flat rate | $4.40 | Interlink Roads |
| Westlink M7 | Both | Electronic | Distance based | $0.3197/km, $6.48 Cap | Transurban |
| M2 Hills Motorway | Both | Electronic / Cash | Flat rate | $4.95 | Transurban |
| Lane Cove Tunnel | Both | Electronic | Flat rate | $2.72 | Connector Motorways |
| Sydney Harbour Bridge | Southbound | Electronic[2] | Time based | Weekdays $3.00 (9.30am - 4pm) $4 (6.30am - 9.30am, 4pm - 7pm) $2.50 (7pm - 6.30am); Weekends $3 (8am - 8pm) $2 (8pm - 8am) | RTA |
| Sydney Harbour Tunnel | Southbound | Electronic | Time based | Weekdays $3.00 (9.30am - 4pm) $4 (6.30am - 9.30am, 4pm - 7pm) $2.50 (7pm - 6.30am); Weekends $3 (8am - 8pm) $2 (8pm - 8am) | RTA |
Intercity highways are linked to the Orbital, moving traffic away from the old busy National Routes. They are:
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