Eastern Distributor

The Eastern Distributor is a 6-kilometre-long (4 mi) motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with Sydney Airport. The centre-piece is a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) tunnel running from Woolloomooloo to Surry Hills. Built as a build-own-operate-transfer project, it is 75.1% owned by Transurban.

Eastern Distributor New South Wales
Tunnel entrance at Woolloomooloo
North end South end Location in greater Sydney
Coordinates	33°51′57″S 151°12′50″E (North end) 33°54′28″S 151°12′48″E (South end)
General information
Type	Motorway
Length	6 km (3.7 mi)
Opened	19 December 1999 (Completed in July 2000)
Route number(s)	M1 (2013–present) Entire Route
Former route number	Metroad 1 (1999–2013) Entire Route
Major junctions
North end	Cahill Expressway Woolloomooloo
	William Street Anzac Parade Cross City Tunnel
South end	Southern Cross Drive Kensington
Location(s)
LGA(s)	City of Sydney
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in New South Wales

The motorway is tolled in the northbound direction with no toll applied southbound. As of 1 July 2020, the toll for cars/motorbikes is $8.00 and $16.00 for other vehicles.[1]

This motorway is part of the 110-kilometre (68 mi) Sydney Orbital Network. For about half its length, it is in a trench inside South Dowling Street. The motorway provides a southbound exit for Lachlan Street/Dacey Avenue, a northbound exit to South Dowling Street (south of Cleveland Street), a northbound entrance ramp from South Dowling Street (north of Cleveland Street), connections from William Street (heading south), and to William Street (heading north). There are also connection to the Cross City Tunnel, giving motorists direct connections under the city to the Western Distributor. There are also northbound/southbound entry/exits to Moore Park Road and Anzac Parade. Southbound motorists were later found to be entering the Eastern Distributor from the Cross City Tunnel access point and immediately attempting to cross three lanes for the Anzac Parade off-ramp. Permanent traffic obstacles have subsequently been installed and users are now referred to the Lachlan Street/Dacey Avenue exit, or as through traffic towards Sydney Airport.

History

The need for an Eastern Distributor was first discussed in 1950.[2] It was not until August 1996 that the Government of New South Wales announced it would be built.[3]

At 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) in length, the Eastern Distributor was built to link the Sydney central business district with Sydney Airport via the already existing Southern Cross Drive (freeway).[4] It was designed to ease congestion and to reduce the time to travel from the city to the airport.[4] Construction involved 5,000 workers was undertaken by Leighton Contractors for Airport Motorway Limited under as a build-own-operate-transfer arrangement.[4] The Eastern Distributor is owned and operated by Transurban,[5] with state government planning, support and management during construction.[4] At a cost of $730 million,[4] the motorway was opened on 19 December 1999, except for the William Street on and off ramps which were opened on 23 July 2000, just in time for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games.[6] The road will revert to government ownership on 23 July 2048.[7]

Eastern Distributor trench section within South Dowling Street at Moore Park, just after the main tunnel.

Two separate tunnel subcontractors began excavating the northbound tunnel in January 1996, working at either of the tunnel—that is, Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo.[8] Seven roadheaders were utilised for the tunnel boring, with the rock ceiling then reinforced with rock bolts and shotcrete.[8] On 4 December 1998 the two teams were shaking hands in the middle–30 metres (100 ft) beneath Taylor Square. Actual construction started in August 1997 and by March 1999 all digging was complete, after 400,000 cubic metres (520,000 cu yd) of soil, largely Sydney sandstone was removed–equal to 40,000 truckloads.

The project's centrepiece is the 1.7-kilometre (1.1 mi) piggyback tunnel under one of Australia's most densely populated urban areas, necessitated due to the requirement of three lanes in each direction within the existing roadway corridor.[9] The unique double-deck, three lanes per direction design comprises a large, single tunnel excavation.[8] At mid-height through the excavation, a precast concrete ledge forms the base of the northbound tunnel, with the southbound tunnel slotting below.[8] As a result, only one tunnel roof was created with the lower southbound carriageway built in a slot.[8] According to the Australasian Tunnelling Society, no records are available of any piggyback tunnel (rail or road) where the upper carriageway has been carried on prestressed concrete planks resting on sidewall ledges.[8] In the main tunnel there is a central length of 0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi) where the span is typically greater than 17 metres (56 ft), and of note, there is no record of any road tunnel with spans greater than this where permanent roof support comprises rockbolts and shotcrete only and with vertical unsupported sidewalls of rock.[8] The tunnel's claim to fame at the time it was built was that at 24.5 metres (80 ft) across at its widest point, it was the widest tunnel in the world. This point occurs where the William Street on ramp tunnel merges with the main tunnel.[8] At 14 metres (46 ft), the tunnel is also notably large from the ceiling to the floor.[4]

The tunnels of the Eastern Distributor are fully equipped with lighting, ventilation, drainage, CCTV surveillance, fire fighting and emergency control systems.[8]

When opened, tollbooths operated at the Woolloomooloo end. With the introduction of electronic tolls, these were replaced by readers on a gantry and demolished.

A northbound exit to South Dowling Street, north of Cleveland Street, was removed during the construction of the CBD and South East Light Rail line.

Exits and interchanges

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Sydney	Sydney CBD	0	0.0	Cahill Expressway (M1) – North Sydney, Newcastle	Northern terminus: continues as Cahill Expressway
	Woolloomooloo	0.26	0.16	Cathedral Street / to William Street, Paddington, Sydney CBD	Southbound exit only
		0.4	0.25	Northern end of tunnel
	Darlinghurst	1.2	0.75	Anzac Parade / Moore Park Road – Randwick, La Perouse	Southbound exit only
		1.3	0.81	Cross City Tunnel / Bourke Street – no exit	Southbound entrance only
		1.6	0.99	Anzac Parade / Moore Park Road – no exit	Northbound entrance only
		1.65	1.03	William Street / Cross City Tunnel – Paddington, Sydney CBD	Northbound exit only; toll plaza at William Street exit
	Surry Hills–Moore Park boundary	2.1	1.3	Southern end of tunnel
		2.2	1.4	South Dowling Street northbound – no exit	Northbound entrance only
	Moore Park	2.5– 2.8	1.6– 1.7	Tunnel (under Cleveland Street)
	Moore Park–Redfern boundary	3.0	1.9	South Dowling Street northbound to Cleveland Street - Redfern, Bondi Junction	Northbound exit only; 24 hour closure of exit currently trialled
		3.2	2.0	South Dowling Street southbound to Dacey Avenue & Lachlan Street – Randwick, Alexandria, Rosebery	Southbound exit only
	Waterloo	3.5– 4.1	2.2– 2.5	Tunnel
Sydney–Randwick boundary	Zetland–Kensington boundary	4.2	2.6	South Dowling Street northbound to Todman Avenue – Randwick, Kensington	Northbound exit only
		4.3	2.7	Cooper Place	Northbound exit only
		4.4	2.7	South Dowling Street – no exit	Southbound entrance only
		4.7	2.9	Link Road – Rosebery	Northbound exit and entrance only
		4.9	3.0	Southern Cross Drive (M1) Wollongong, Canberra, Sydney Airport	Southern terminus: continues as Southern Cross Drive
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Route transition

See also

• Freeways in Sydney
• List of tunnels in Australia

References

1. Toll Pricing Linkt
2. £10 mil road plan to speed Sydney traffic The Sun 19 July 1950 page 12
3. City Tollway Fleetline issue 244 September 1996 page 163
4. Jewell, Chris; Merrick, Noel (2003). "Modelling of the groundwater impact of a sunken urban motorway in Sydney, Australia" (PDF). RMZ – Materials and Geoenvironment. 50 (1): 229. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
5. "Transurban turnover rises as traffic grows". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012.
6. "Eastern Distributor Construction Homes Damage". Parliament of New South Wales. 11 September 2001. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
7. "Eastern Distributor". Roads and Maritime Services. 11 September 2001. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012.
8. "Eastern Distributor, Sydney". Australasian Tunnelling Society. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015.
9. Lai, Steven; Wong, Dee; Wu, Dicken (9 April 2009). "Fire and life safety designs for road tunnels in Asia" (PDF). Fire Division, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. pp. 23–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2016.

External links

• Official Site
• Roam Express Eastern Distributor Toll prices
• Web Cam
• Eastern Distributor on Google Maps