Western Sydney motorists will soon get their first drive on the long-awaited M12 Motorway, with the brand-new toll-free road opening in the early hours of Saturday, 14 March.
Built over four years, the 16-kilometre motorway links Elizabeth Drive in the east with The Northern Road in the west, creating an uninterrupted 100 km/h connection to the new Western Sydney International Airport (Nancy‑Bird Walton).
State Member for Leppington Nathan Hagarty said Western Sydney residents had waited long enough for a major project like this.
“The Liberals and Nationals left Sydney with tollmania and the Minns Labor Government was determined the M12 would open toll-free, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering,” he added.
Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda described the motorway as a major win for the region.
“This motorway will provide the essential link for local families, workers and businesses to move across Western Sydney and connect to the new airport precinct,” she said.
The $2.1 billion project is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments and is expected to remove around 25,000 vehicles a day from local roads.
Construction involved more than 10,000 workers, the building of 17 bridges, and planting over 18,500 trees and 1.5 million shrubs and grasses along the corridor.
Premier Chris Minns said the new motorway is a vital piece of infrastructure as Western Sydney prepares for the airport’s opening later this year.
“This brand new toll-free motorway is critical to the future of this growing region of New South Wales.”
He added the road would improve travel times and ease congestion.
“Communities in Western Sydney deserve this world-class infrastructure which will ease pressure on local roads, cut travel times and improve connectivity with the rest of Sydney’s road network,” he said.
Describing the M12 as “a game-changing addition”, NSW Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said, ““And we’ve 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.”
While the motorway opens this weekend, the M7/M12 interchange at Cecil Hills is still under construction and is expected to open mid-year, creating a fully intersection-free motorway connection across the network.
As Federal Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley put it, the project is about giving families something simple but valuable back.
“Western Sydney families know the cost of congestion: it steals time from dinner tables, weekend sport, and being with the people you love,” she said.
“The toll-free M12 gives that time back.”
