Eastern Distributor

Sydney’s Eastern Distributor is a 4km high-standard motorway between the Cahill Expressway at Woolloomooloo and Southern Cross Drive at Zetland. The entire project was worth $700 million with large sections of the project tunneled underground. The underground section (between Cathedral St and Anzac Pde) was built largely using the cut-and-cover method under existing rights-of-way. The motorway was funded and built by a private sector consortium, and will be operated, maintained and repaired by the consortium until 2048, when it will revert to the public sector. The motorway is tolled at two locations for northbound traffic. The main toll plaza is just south of the Art Gallery land bridge, and an additional toll plaza is located on the northbound off ramp to William St.

The three-year Eastern Distributor construction project came to a successful conclusion eight months ahead of schedule, opening to traffic on 9 December 1999. Journey times along the route have been cut by up to 20 minutes, and congestion in the inner-eastern Sydney area has been greatly reduced.

History
An expressway along the route of today's Eastern Distributor was first proposed in the 1951 County of Cumberland Scheme. It was to form part of a ring road system around the Sydney CBD collecting through traffic from radiating freeways/expressways and "distributing" it to various directions bypassing city streets, hence the name "Eastern Distributor". The "Western Distributor" south of the Harbour Bridge and over Darling Harbour was also part of the same ring road plan.

The Sydney Area Transportation Study conducted in 1970 saw a major review of Sydney's transportation plans and reassessed the city's changing needs. At this time the Eastern Distributor was envisaged to be a surface freeway.

Later, the majority of the inner-urban freeway and ring road corridors in both the County of Cumberland Scheme and the Sydney Area Transportation Study were abandoned. The Eastern Distributor, however, was retained as an important bypass.

The Strategic Plan of 1980 revived plans for the Eastern Distributor and pushed for its early construction to restrict and relieve the ever-worsening congestion in the residential areas of East Sydney and Surry Hills.

In 1984 the Department of Main Roads (DMR), which later became part of the Roads and Traffic Authority proposed the construction of the Eastern Distributor as originally suggested by the Sydney Area Transportation Study. In 1985 the DMR exhibited an Environmental Impact Statement for an amended plan, placing the Eastern Distributor in tunnels from north of William St to just south of Drivers Triangle on Anzac Parade.

In December 1987 Stage 1 of the new plan tunnel under William St creating a much-needed bypass for through north-south traffic crossing east-west William St. The Second and Third Stages: full length tunnels in each direction, were never constructed.

Since 1985 various environmental factors further worsened the traffic situation in inner-eastern Sydney. The Sydney Harbour Tunnel Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened in 1992 increasing through traffic considerably. The completion of the 3rd runway at the airport saw increasing domestic and international air traffic, with this route being a major access for northern and eastern Sydney to the airport. Continuing growth and expansion of the port facilities at Botany Bay, and the increasing return of population to the inner suburbs all led to an even greater strain on the traffic handling capabilities of the area.

A study in 1994 showed that wide support for a freeway and willingness by motorists to pay a toll, and in May the private sector was invited to submit proposals to construct, operate and maintain the Eastern Distributor.

Certain political issues in relation to taxes and capital borrowing for urban tollways were resolved in June 1996 and the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) continued negotiations for the project with the preferred proponent: Airport Motorway Ltd (AML). AML is a private consortium consisting of Leighton Contractors (the builders) and Macquarie Bank (the financiers).

In August 1996 AML was officially endorsed by the NSW Parliament as the preferred proponent of the Eastern Distributor project. The AML proposal was considered likely to generate sufficient income to fund all the works from Cahill Expressway to Moore Park, including upgrading of South Dowling St as well as extra RTA works that included widening Southern Cross Dr from 4 to 6 lanes, and widening General Holmes Dr from 6 to 8 lanes between Botany Rd and the eastern end of the M5 Eastern Extension.

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the AML Eastern Distributor and associated RTA works was exhibited in November-December 1996. The RTA had made a number of changes to original AML proposal. Planning approval was granted by the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, subject to 151 conditions, in June 1997. The main contracts became fully effective and unconditionally binding when all conditions had been satisfied in August 1997.

The project opened in December 1999, 8 months ahead of its three-year completion schedule.

Information Source: RTA 2001

Date of last revision: 9 Jun 2005