Western Sydney, as well as areas north and south of Sydney, will need to accommodate large travel demand increases due to significant population and employment growth.
By 2031, an additional 140,000 people are expected to live in the Illawarra and Central Coast regions. Western Sydney’s population is projected to grow by almost the equivalent of Adelaide (c.1.35 million people) by 2041, and by the equivalent of Perth (c.2.2 million people) by around 2060.The broader Western Sydney Employment Area is expected to accommodate 378,000 new jobs in the long term. Growth on this scale will require significant, on-going investment in new transport infrastructure, for both road-based vehicles as well as rail for freight and passengers. Corridor protection is the first step towards providing that infrastructure.
Traffic modelling undertaken as part of the 2015 Australian Infrastructure Audit indicated that in 2031 parts of the existing outer Sydney road network will be at or above capacity, which is expected to result in congestion and long travel times. Freight movement is also anticipated to continue to rapidly expand and will be essential for employment opportunities in the region.
In the absence of long-term planning and corridor protection, future infrastructure provision would be complex and costly.
In March 2018, the NSW Government publicly exhibited a planning study to identify a preferred alignment for the first stage of the corridor, between Richmond Road and the Hume Highway. This is envisaged to be a multi-modal transport corridor in Western Sydney, comprising a motorway, a north–south freight rail line, and, where practical, integrating a north– south passenger rail line.
Investigations are ongoing for the remaining stages to Illawarra (Outer Sydney Orbital Stage 2) and the Central Coast (Outer Sydney Orbital Stage 3).
Proponent to submit a proposal for the first stage of the Outer Sydney Orbital (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework), with potential investment options for Outer Sydney Orbital Stages 2 and 3 to follow subsequently.