{"id":37867,"date":"2026-03-10T08:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T21:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=37867"},"modified":"2026-03-10T08:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T21:49:26","slug":"built-finished-opening-toll-free-m12-motorway-goes-live-on-saturday-14-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/built-finished-opening-toll-free-m12-motorway-goes-live-on-saturday-14-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Built, finished, opening: toll-free M12 Motorway goes live on Saturday, 14 march"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The&nbsp;Albanese and&nbsp;Minns Labor Governments&nbsp;have set the opening date&nbsp;for&nbsp;the brand-new&nbsp;M12 Motorway \u2013 the driveway to the new Western Sydney International&nbsp;(Nancy-Bird Walton)&nbsp;Airport.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After&nbsp;four years of&nbsp;construction, Western Sydney\u2019s&nbsp;new,&nbsp;state-of-the-art&nbsp;motorway&nbsp;will open to traffic&nbsp;in the early hours of&nbsp;Saturday,&nbsp;14 March, in time for the commencement of cargo&nbsp;and passenger&nbsp;flights at the new airport later in the year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;16-kilometre&nbsp;section&nbsp;of the&nbsp;M12 connects Elizabeth Drive in the east to The Northern Road in the west, delivering an intersection-free, 100 km\/h run straight to&nbsp;the&nbsp;airport precinct.&nbsp;It will serve as&nbsp;the&nbsp;key gateway to&nbsp;the&nbsp;new airport and the&nbsp;Western Sydney Aerotropolis,&nbsp;which&nbsp;will become a thriving innovation precinct and create thousands of jobs&nbsp;for the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;M12&nbsp;is designed to&nbsp;seamlessly integrate with the wider&nbsp;road&nbsp;network, improving connectivity for motorists and freight operators across Sydney.&nbsp;The final&nbsp;component&nbsp;\u2013 the M7\/M12 Interchange at Cecil Hills \u2013&nbsp;remains&nbsp;on track to open mid-year&nbsp;delivering a motorway-to-motorway&nbsp;and intersection-free&nbsp;connection between the M12 and the M7.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;motorway&nbsp;between Elizabeth Drive and The Northern Road will open&nbsp;in the early hours&nbsp;of&nbsp;Saturday&nbsp;morning, because the Albanese and Minns Governments are determined to open the&nbsp;new road&nbsp;to Western Sydney residents at the earliest opportunity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The $2.1 billion project&nbsp;is&nbsp;funded&nbsp;with a $1.63 billion investment from&nbsp;the&nbsp;Albanese&nbsp;Government&nbsp;and&nbsp;a $408 million investment from the&nbsp;Minns Labor&nbsp;Government.&nbsp;It&nbsp;is expected to take around 25,000 vehicles a day off local roads,&nbsp;taking&nbsp;pressure&nbsp;off&nbsp;suburban streets and improving travel times and reliability across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Government has applied lessons from other new road corridors to ensure motorists can drive the M12 with confidence from day one.&nbsp;Signage, line-marking&nbsp;and lane guidance have been tested across key connections, with interactive driver animations available online so drivers can familiarise themselves with the route before opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Project highlights include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Around 181,933 cubic metres of concrete used,\u00a0equivalent to 73 Olympic pools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5,217,117 hours worked<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>10,000 people employed, including 4,900 local workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over 2.6 million m\u00b3 of earthworks completed, equivalent to 1,064 Olympic\u00a0pools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Construction of\u00a017\u00a0bridges<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>461 bridge piles installed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>637 bridge girders installed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over 1,5 million\u00a0shrubs and grasses planted<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>18,500 trees planted<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2,320 bridge lineal metres delivered<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Premier\u00a0of New South Wales\u00a0Chris Minns:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a direct gateway to Western Sydney International Airport, this&nbsp;brand new&nbsp;toll-free&nbsp;motorway&nbsp;is critical to&nbsp;the future of&nbsp;this growing region of&nbsp;New South Wales.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCommunities in Western Sydney deserve&nbsp;this world-class infrastructure which will ease pressure on local roads, cut travel&nbsp;times&nbsp;and improve connectivity with the&nbsp;rest of Sydney\u2019s road network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom Saturday, thousands of motorists will have the chance to use this&nbsp;new&nbsp;motorway&nbsp;for the very first time&nbsp;to&nbsp;more quickly and easily get to where they need to go.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSydney\u2019s new airport will connect Western Sydney to the world, and the M12 will play a critical role getting passengers to the terminal, and freight to the tarmac.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMore than 8,000 people have worked on this project, more than 5,000 of them have been from here in Western Sydney. This road is their legacy, and I have no doubt many of them will use it, to get their families to the airport ahead of a big holiday in the years to come.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis project is part of the Albanese and Minns Government\u2019s unprecedented investment in the future of Western Sydney, building the infrastructure this community needs to deliver jobs and connect it to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Deputy Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis vital project is part of the $7.4 billion the Minns Labor Government has invested in Western Sydney roads since March 2023.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a good outcome for Western Sydney &#8211; a brand-new, toll-free motorway that takes pressure off local roads and gives&nbsp;people&nbsp;more time back with their families.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnder the former government, residents in growing communities have had to live with the impact of infrastructure being delivered decades late or not built at all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is an example of critical infrastructure being built and opened first.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith the opening of the M12, together with making the toll cap permanent, the Minns Labor Government is delivering practical cost-of-living relief for families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NSW\u00a0Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe M12 is a game-changing addition to the network \u2013 16&nbsp;kilometres of toll-free motorway and the new driveway to Western Sydney International Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAround 25,000 vehicles a day are expected to use this road \u2013&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;traffic we can take off local streets by providing a high-quality, free alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd we\u2019ve learnt from other new corridors: signage, line-marking and lane guidance have been tested at key connections, and drivers can preview the route using online driver animations so they can hit the M12 with confidence from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Senator for New South Wales, Tony Sheldon:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve&nbsp;raised my kids in Western Sydney for more than 15 years, so I know firsthand how much time people here spend on the road just trying to get to work, school or sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe M12 will take pressure off local roads and make&nbsp;everyday&nbsp;travel easier for families across Western Sydney &#8211; meaning less time sitting in traffic and more time being where you want to be. This is what Labor Governments delivering for Western Sydney looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Federal Member for\u00a0Werriwa Anne Stanley:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWestern Sydney families know the cost of congestion:&nbsp;it steals time from dinner tables, weekend sport, and being with the people you love. The toll-free M12 gives that time back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is the driveway to Western Sydney International Airport, and it means people in our community will have a faster, more reliable run to jobs and opportunities as the airport opens later this year.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00a0State\u00a0Member for\u00a0Leppington Nathan Hagarty:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople in Western Sydney have waited long enough.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Liberals and Nationals left Sydney with&nbsp;tollmania&nbsp;and the Minns Labor Government was determined the M12 would open toll-free, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re delivering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe toll-free M12 is now open, and&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a big win for Liverpool and Western Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis motorway will provide the essential link for local families,&nbsp;workers&nbsp;and businesses to move across Western Sydney and connect to the new airport precinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMotorists in Liverpool can breathe a sigh of relief, as the Minns Labor Government is ensuring the M12 is toll-free, helping manage cost-of-living pressures for Western Sydney households.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The&nbsp;Albanese and&nbsp;Minns Labor Governments&nbsp;have set the opening date&nbsp;for&nbsp;the brand-new&nbsp;M12 Motorway \u2013 the driveway to the new Western Sydney International&nbsp;(Nancy-Bird Walton)&nbsp;Airport.&nbsp;&nbsp; After&nbsp;four years of&nbsp;construction, Western Sydney\u2019s&nbsp;new,&nbsp;state-of-the-art&nbsp;motorway&nbsp;will open to traffic&nbsp;in the early hours of&nbsp;Saturday,&nbsp;14 March, in time for the commencement of cargo&nbsp;and passenger&nbsp;flights at the new airport later in the year.&nbsp; The&nbsp;16-kilometre&nbsp;section&nbsp;of the&nbsp;M12 connects Elizabeth Drive in &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/built-finished-opening-toll-free-m12-motorway-goes-live-on-saturday-14-march\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Built, finished, opening: toll-free M12 Motorway goes live on Saturday, 14 march&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37868,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37867\/revisions\/37868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}