{"id":4991,"date":"2020-01-31T18:08:28","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=4991"},"modified":"2020-01-31T18:08:28","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:08:28","slug":"first-sod-turned-for-parramatta-light-rail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/01\/31\/first-sod-turned-for-parramatta-light-rail\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRST SOD TURNED FOR PARRAMATTA LIGHT RAIL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The first sod has been turned for major construction today for the Parramatta Light Rail project, which will transform the Greater Parramatta region.<br \/>\nActing Minister for Transport and Roads Paul Toole said it was an exciting time for Greater Parramatta as works ramp up for the new high-frequency light rail.<br \/>\n\u201cToday marks a significant step on a project that will transform transport connectivity in a growing part of Sydney,\u201d Mr Toole said.<br \/>\n\u201cThe new 12-kilometre light rail project will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia, and is set to open in 2023.<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve already hit the ground running with the decommissioning works along the closed Carlingford rail line, in preparation for its conversion to light rail.\u201d<br \/>\nMember for Parramatta Geoff Lee said the project was a major win for the region, as it would support the creation of new communities.<br \/>\n\u201cThis Parramatta Light Rail will bring people living in Greater Parramatta together with a safe and efficient public transport network,\u201d Mr Lee said.<br \/>\n\u201cIt will improve connections to popular key destinations across the region, while also linking into Sydney\u2019s greater public transport networks.<br \/>\nMr Toole said Transport for NSW was working hard to minimise the impacts of construction on businesses and the local community.<br \/>\n\u201cSome disruption is unavoidable, which is why we will continue working with businesses to ensure they have the information and support they need,\u201d Mr Toole said.<br \/>\n\u201cTransport for NSW will also pause construction from 1 November until 31 January each year along \u2018Eat Street\u2019 to allow businesses to take advantage of the holiday trading period.<br \/>\n\u201cDuring this time, events and activities will be put on to support local businesses and encourage families and friends to continue to enjoy all that is on offer.\u201d<br \/>\nFrom this Saturday, 1 February, Church Street between Macquarie and Market Streets will be closed to traffic, with diversions in place. Motorists will be encouraged to use Marsden and Smith Streets. The free 900 shuttle bus service will also run on a new route along George Street in the Parramatta CBD.<br \/>\nFor more information, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/parramattalightrail.nsw.gov.au\/\">parramattalightrail.nsw.gov.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first sod has been turned for major construction today for the Parramatta Light Rail project, which will transform the Greater Parramatta region. Acting Minister for Transport and Roads Paul Toole said it was an exciting time for Greater Parramatta as works ramp up for the new high-frequency light rail. \u201cToday marks a significant step &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/01\/31\/first-sod-turned-for-parramatta-light-rail\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;FIRST SOD TURNED FOR PARRAMATTA LIGHT RAIL&#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-4991","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\/4991","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=4991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4991\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}