1 July 2019

A new road underpass at Mascot which has now opened will improve access to Sydney Airport and Port Botany and bust congestion for motorists.

Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the Morrison and Berejiklian Government-funded project replaced the railway level crossing at General Holmes Drive.

“Traffic will now be able to smoothly travel between Botany Road and General Holmes Drive by passing through a new underpass under the rail line at Wentworth Avenue,” Mr Tudge said.

“In addition to keeping traffic flowing through this busy precinct, the underpass will also improve access to rail freight facilities to and from Port Botany.

“This is a great result for both industry and the community more broadly. Getting drivers home to their families quickly and safely through this type of congestion-busting project is a priority for the Morrison Government.”

NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the first motorists travelled through the underpass on Saturday 29 June, with around 25,000 motorists expected to use the underpass each day.

“This is a major milestone for the project, which involved complex work to build the project under the flight path restrictions and minimise traffic and rail freight disruptions,” Mr Constance said.

“Work was carried out to completely rebuild the intersection of Botany Road and Wentworth Avenue across 56 consecutive hours during one weekend to lower the level of the intersection by almost two metres.

“Crews shifted 1,000 tonnes of concrete, 4,500 tonnes of sand, 1,800 tonnes of stabilised base material, more than a 1,000 tonnes of asphalt and 410 tonnes of drainage stone.”

Mr Tudge said the project was part of the Morrison and Berejiklian governments’ commitment to improving traffic flow around Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport through the upgrade of roads and rail freight operations.

“This underpass is part of a suite of Airport East improvements, which include the upgrade of the Mill Pond Road intersections with General Holmes Drive and Botany Road, and the  widening of Joyce Drive and General Holmes Drive between O’Riordan Street and Mill Pond Road to three lanes in each direction,” he said.

Mr Constance said a new freight rail bridge with duplicated tracks across the extended section of Wentworth Avenue will also be built.

“Work is also currently being carried out to create a new shared path to link to the existing cycleway on Wentworth Avenue at Todd Reserve,” he said.

With the underpass open, finishing work for the project will be carried out across the coming months, weather permitting.

Final works include building new medians, kerbs and footpaths, new drainage, paving, line marking, and installing signage and landscaping.

Motorists are advised that Entry to Park and Fly is currently from Botany Road.

The $156 million project, including the new underpass, was jointly funded by the Morrison and Berejiklian  governments, with the Morrison Government committing $40 million and the Berejiklian Government committing the remainder.