Toll roads in Australia
This article lists and outlines tollways or toll roads in Australia. Tollways are found in the eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. All are currently within the urban limits of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Melbourne's CityLink tollway (M1 and M2 sections) carry the highest volume of traffic and also generate the highest revenue of all the tollways (by a substantial amount). This is mainly due to the necessary cross-city and North (Melbourne Airport-bound) corridors. Each respective city uses a different retailer to collect tolls, such as CityLink in Melbourne, e-Way, e-Toll, Roam and Transurban Linkt in Sydney and Linkt (formerly known as go via) in Brisbane.
Most tollways operate an open system of toll collection (tolls are collected at a barrier or mainline toll plaza). The Westlink M7 is Closed System where tolls are calculated based on distance from entry/exit points. e-TAG was developed by Transurban (the owner and operator of CityLink) in Melbourne in the 1990s in preparation for what would be one of the world's first 'fully electronic' tollways. Since July 2013 all toll roads in Australia adopted a cashless system. Free-flow tolling is used on some tollways, including Melbourne's EastLink tollway where either an e-TAG or an account (tag-less) can be used via each gantry. Queensland also has motorways that have been converted into tollways or new tollways constructed, which use the electronic method.
According to Professor Mark Hickman, the chair of Transport at the University of Queensland's School of Civil Engineering, toll roads in Australia have not reached expected traffic volumes and do not always relieve congestion in the short-term.[1]
Current toll roads
Toll Road[2][3][4][5] | Location | Toll Point | A$ revenue (million) 2007 | trips/transactions (Mil) 2007 | A$ Tolls 2008 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Distributor ![]() |
Woolloomooloo, NSW | Woolloomooloo (Northbound) | 75.3 | 17.4 | 5.50 |
Military Road E-Ramps ![]() |
Neutral Bay, NSW | Neutral Bay | 1.62 | ||
Sydney Harbour Bridge ![]() |
Sydney to North Sydney, NSW | North Sydney and Milsons Point (Southbound) | 85.91 | unknown | 3.00 |
Sydney Harbour Tunnel ![]() |
Sydney to North Sydney, NSW | North Sydney (Southbound) | 43.7 | unknown | 3.00 |
Lane Cove Tunnel ![]() |
Artarmon to North Ryde, NSW | North Ryde | unknown | unknown | 2.69 |
Hills Motorway ![]() |
North Ryde to Baulkham Hills, NSW | Multiple | 120.6 | 33.8 | 4.95 to 6.60 |
Western Motorway ![]() |
Parramatta to Haberfield, NSW | Multiple | |||
South Western Motorway ![]() |
Beverly Hills to Moorebank, NSW | Multiple | 163.6 | 42.3 | 3.80 |
M5 East Motorway ![]() |
Beverly Hills to Kyeemagh, NSW | Multiple | |||
Westlink ![]() |
Baulkham Hills to Prestons, NSW | Multiple | 153.2 | 41.8 | 0.44 to 6.58 |
M8 Motorway ![]() |
Beverly Hills to Tempe, NSW | Multiple | |||
Cross City Tunnel | Sydney, NSW to Rushcutters Bay | Sydney | unknown | unknown | 4.07 |
CityLink ![]() ![]() |
Pascoe Vale to Malvern, Vic | Multiple | 362.8 | 247.9 | 1.65 to 6.21 |
EastLink ![]() |
Ringwood to Frankston, Vic | n/a | 0.33 to 4.96 | ||
Gateway Motorway ![]() ![]() |
Banyo to Drewvale, Qld | Murarrie and Kuraby | 90.6 | 33.6 | 2.90 |
Logan Motorway ![]() |
Gailes to Loganholme, Qld | Heathwood and Meadowbrook | 69.9 | 37.2 | 2.00 to 3.20 |
Legacy Way ![]() |
Toowong to Kelvin Grove, Qld | Toowong | n/a | n/a | 3.00 |
Clem Jones Tunnel ![]() |
Woolloongabba to Bowen Hills, Qld | Bowen Hills | n/a | n/a | 4.28 |
Airport Link ![]() |
Windsor to Clayfield, Qld | Windsor and Clayfield | n/a | n/a | 3.82 to 4.98 |
Go Between Bridge | West End to Milton, Qld | West End | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Toowoomba Bypass ![]() ![]() |
Helidon Spa to Athol, Qld | Harlaxton | n/a | n/a | 2.30 |
Former toll roads
Toll Road | Location | Toll Point | Operated Until |
---|---|---|---|
Sunshine Motorway | Maroochydore to Pacific Paradise, Qld | Pacific Paradise | 1996, toll removed. |
Southern Freeway (F6) ![]() |
Waterfall to Bulli Tops, NSW | Waterfall | 1995 (30 July) |
Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3) | Berowra to Calga, NSW | Berowra | 1988 |
West Gate Bridge | Port Melbourne to Spotswood, Vic | Port Melbourne | 1985 |
Hornibrook Bridge | Brighton to Clontarf, Qld | Clontarf | 1979 (Demolished) Replaced with (toll free) Houghton Highway 1979 and Ted Smout Memorial Bridge 2010 |
Walter Taylor Bridge | Chelmer to Indooroopilly, Qld | Indooroopilly | 1960's, toll removed. |
Story Bridge | Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point, Qld | Kangaroo Point | 1947, toll removed. |
Springbrook Road | Neranwood to Springbrook, Qld | Neranwood | 1945 (30 November) |
Great Ocean Road | Eastern View to Apollo Bay, Vic | Eastern View | 1936 (2 October) toll removed and road handed over to the Victorian Government |
Future toll roads
- NorthConnex in Sydney, to connect the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga with the M2 Hills Motorway at West Pennant Hills, under construction and anticipated to open in mid-2020.
- Westconnex Stage 3 (M4-M5 Link) in Sydney, to connect the M4 East at Haberfield with the M8 Motorway at Sydney Airport, under construction and anticipated to open in 2023.
- West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne, to connect the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville with the Port of Melbourne and CityLink at Docklands, under construction and anticipated to open in 2023.
- M6 Motorway in Sydney, to connect the M8 Motorway at Arncliffe with President Avenue, Kogarah, anticipated to open in 2025.
- Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link in Sydney, to connect the M4-M5 Link, Victoria Road and the Anzac Bridge at Rozelle, New South Wales, with the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation at Balgowlah, under planning and anticipated to open in 2026.
- North East Link in Melbourne, to connect the M80 Ring Road at Greensborough with the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen, under planning and anticipated to open in 2027.
References
- Tony Moore (19 March 2015). "Brisbane's toll tunnels fail to cut rising travel times: RACQ". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- Transurban, security holder review
- Linton Besser (27 September 2008). "The bleeping price we paid to drive". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- Sydney Morning Herald: Bridge toll props up harbour tunnelBridge toll props up harbour tunnel (13 December 2007)
- Qld Motorways - 2007 Annual Report