Project overview

The NSW Government announced the approval of the Hills M2 Upgrade on Tuesday, 26 October 2010. The project was approved by the Minister for Planning under Part 3A of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and is subject to a range of Conditions of Approval relating to the management of environmental, construction, traffic, cyclist and noise impacts.

Visit document links - environmental assessment to view the Conditions of Approval and project approval process flow chart.

The Hills M2 Upgrade will widen the existing motorway generally between Windsor Road, Baulkham Hills and Lane Cove Road, North Ryde and will deliver four new ramps to improve access to the motorway. These works will take approximately two years to complete.

The NSW Government is working to deliver high quality, integrated and reliable transport services to continue economic development and competitiveness

The Hills M2 Upgrade is just one of many projects identified in the NSW Government's Metropolitan Strategy (reviewed March 2010) and the Metropolitan Transport Plan - Connecting the City of Cities (March 2010) to improve the efficiency of Sydney's transport network. These projects will contribute to achieving sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes for Sydney into the future.

The Hills M2 Motorway plays a key role in Sydney's Orbital network linking the north west region to the lower north shore and Sydney's CBD. It is a key road freight and commuter route and connects the major employment hubs of Macquarie Park and Norwest Business Park.

On a typical workday, the Hills M2 is used by more than 100,000 vehicles and over 17,000 bus commuters.

Construction of the Westlink M7 and the Lane Cove Tunnel combined with strong commercial and residential growth in Sydney's north west has led to heavy congestion on the Hills M2 motorway during peak periods.

The upgrade will improve access to major growth areas along the motorway. It will support current planning for Sydney's north west which includes 140,000 new homes and 100,000 new jobs over the next 25 years.

The project is part of the commitment from the RTA and the Hills M2 to provide efficient and integrated transport for the community of Sydney's north west.

The Hills M2 Upgrade will:

• Reduce congestion during busy morning and afternoon peak periods.
• Restore a 100km/h speed limit along the westbound carriageway from Lane Cove Road to Beecroft Road.
• Provide new entry/exit points to improve access to the north west from Windsor Road and Sydney's growing residential and business centres in Macquarie Park.

Features of the upgrade include:

• New west facing Windsor Road on and off ramps.
• Additional eastbound lane from Windsor Road to Pennant Hills Road.
• Additional eastbound lane from Pennant Hills Road, through the Norfolk Tunnel, to Lane Cove Road.
• New Christie Road eastbound on ramp.
• New Herring Road westbound off ramp.
• Widened westbound lanes from Lane Cove Road to Beecroft Road.
• Additional westbound lane from Beecroft Road to Pennant Hills Road.