The Albanese and Minns Labor Governments have hit the go button on the next major road project for North Western Sydney, awarding contracts for design and construction for the $744 million upgrade of Richmond Road.
This builds on the $7.4 billion the Minns Government has invested in Western Sydney roads since March 2023.
As one of the major gateways to Sydney's North West, nearly four kilometres of Richmond Road will undergo a range of improvements including adding additional lanes, installing shared paths, boosting flood resilience and providing better access to growing suburbs.
Richmond Road already carries some 70,000 cars per day and this is predicted to increase sharply in coming years. However, with this upgrade and the construction of the M7 overpass, Transport for NSW expects to see a 21 per cent improvement in the AM peak and 34 per cent improvement in the PM peak for average travel times after the upgrades are complete.
The centrepiece of the upgrade will be a new flyover bridge from the M7 Motorway Rooty Hill Road North off-ramp to Richmond Road northbound which will address traffic congestion while boosting efficiency and safety.
Construction is due to commence at the start of 2026.
The program of works includes three projects:
- $520 million M7 Motorway to Townson Road upgrade
- $150 million Elara Boulevard to Heritage Road upgrade
- $74 million Richmond Road Planning project, which will investigate further investment opportunities along the corridor.
The M7 Motorway to Townson Road Upgrade will widen Richmond Road between Colebee and Marsden Park to ease congestion, improve safety and support future housing, development and connectivity of communities across Sydney's north-west.
Around 2.2 kilometres will be upgraded from four lanes to six lanes, while a new concrete bridge over Bells Creek will include travel lanes as well as a path for pedestrians and cyclists.
The upgrade of the 1.6-kilometre stretch of Richmond Road between Elara Boulevard and Heritage Road will provide better access to the growing Marsden Park community and surrounding suburbs by delivering an improved connection to Blacktown.
This upgrade will widen Richmond Road from two lanes to a four-lane divided road with a wider central median for future expansion of the road to six lanes as required.
A new bus priority signalised intersection, an extended shared path connecting to Marsden Park and improved flood resilient facilities along this bustling corridor are included in the upgrades.
New traffic lights will ease congestion and reduce delays during peak periods, while dedicated bus priority lanes will help public transport services run more efficiently and shared paths will make cycling safer and easier.
