Sydney M6 Stage 1

Improving the quality of life for people living in large metropolises like Sydney also means increasing connections and the quality of infrastructural networks. This is precisely what is happening thanks to the NSW Government’s unprecedented investment and their forty-year vision for transport outcomes in the State; the M6 plays a key role of this strategy.

The project is located near Sydney Airport and it features twin 4 km road tunnels which will connect the new M8 motorway at Arncliffe with President Avenue at Kogarah, thus providing the missing link in the southern part of Sydney with the city’s ever increasing motorway network, making for easier, faster, and safer travel. 

The project is in the first phase of a wider plan for the M6 motorway, which will eventually extend to the A1 Princes Highway in Loftus. The M6 Stage 1 will enable motorists to bypass up to 23 sets of traffic lights and Sydney airport traffic. The project will deliver improved safety for cyclists and pedestrians through new shared cyclist and pedestrian pathways. Other important changes include general improvements to traffic and mobility in the city: underground construction minimizes disruption to the community and impacts on properties; additionally, General Holmes Drive will see a reduction of some 10,000 vehicles per day and reduce the number of trucks on the surface by 2,000 per day.

All of this will increase the livability in the area and will contribute to a more accessible a better city.

A Few Numbers

M6 Stage 1 includes the construction of twin four kilometer tunnels, ramps between the main tunnel and a new surface intersection at President Avenue, a stub tunnel for a future extension of the M6, enhancement to the intersection between President Avenue and Princes Highway, auxiliary infrastructures, operational structures, and new pedestrian and footpaths.

Completion of the 4 km of twin tunnels requires 125 meters of open-air excavation and 230 m of Cut&Cover excavation (using the Top-Down construction method, end roads in Hawkesbury Sandstone, and excavators in Sands and Clay with Jet-grouting); two tunnels with a section of up to 267 square meters; three-lane tunnels with a section of up to 182 square meters; 27 cross passages.

“This amazing infrastructure will improve journey times, reduce congestion and remove trucks from local streets. For this reason, as Ghella, we are working to bring our expertise to the M6 project and we will pride ourselves on providing a high quality and safe outcome for our clients, Sydney people and its communities.”

Eng. Davide Bergo | Project Manager