I am very pleased to open the Westlink M7 motorway, Australia's largest urban road project.
Completed in just two-and-a-half years, Westlink M7 is the first of many significant projects to be delivered under the Australian Government's $12.7 billion AusLink programme.
The Australian Government contributed $356 million (indexed) to the $1.5 billion cost of the motorway which was built by Westlink Motorway Limited, a consortium backed by the Macquarie Infrastructure Group, Transurban, Leighton Holdings and Contractors, and Abigroup.
The 40 kilometre Westlink M7 motorway will cut a cross-Sydney car journey by one hour and delivers to the people of western Sydney, in particular, the essential road link they have sought for many years.
This new transport infrastructure will underpin the development of the region and Sydney into the future. The motorway will allow fast, efficient freight distribution to emerging industrial zones. This means more jobs locally and more equitable access to employment for the people of western Sydney.
The new road incorporates 17 interchanges and 38 overpasses and underpasses to maintain local access for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Australia's longest combined pedestrian and cycle path will traverse 40 kilometres over arterial roads and local waterways.
Approximately 20 kilometres of associated road upgrades have been completed in conjunction with the Westlink M7 project. An estimated 60,000 vehicles, including 10,000 trucks, will be removed from the existing arterial roads around western Sydney.
This project is an excellent example of what can be achieved through governments and the private sector working together. The Australian Government will continue to encourage such partnerships as we go about reshaping and rebuilding our national transport infrastructure, so critical to Australia's social and economic well-being.
I congratulate the partners in the Westlink consortium for completing this enormous project ahead of the original construction schedule and for delivering to the people of Sydney this much needed ring road.