Western Distributor (Sydney)

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Western Distributor

New South Wales
Eastbound traffic on Western Distributor travelling into the Sydney CBD
Western Distributor (Sydney) is located in Sydney
East end
East end
West end
West end
Coordinates
General information
TypeMotorway
Length4.3 km (2.7 mi)[1]
Opened1972
GazettedJanuary 1993[2]
Route number(s) A4 (2013–present)
Former
route number
  • Metroad 4 (2000–2013)
  • State Route 40 (1981–2013)
  • Entire route
  • Metroad 2 (1993–2007)
  • National Route 1 (1986–1992)
  • (CBD–Ultimo)
Major junctions
East endBradfield Highway
Millers Point, Sydney
 
West end City West Link
Rozelle, Sydney
Location(s)
Major suburbs / townsSydney, Pyrmont, Rozelle
Highway system

Western Distributor is a 4.3-kilometre-long (2.7 mi)[1] grade-separated motorway that is primarily elevated for the majority of its route on the western fringe of the Sydney central business district. It links the southern end of Bradfield Highway at the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Victoria Road in Rozelle, at its western terminus near White Bay. It is a constituent part of the A4 route.

Route

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The freeway distributes traffic arriving from the north via the Sydney Harbour Bridge while collecting traffic from the CBD, distributing it through Pyrmont and Ultimo before crossing over the Anzac Bridge. In the citybound direction, traffic is collected from Victoria Road and the City West Link, as well as various on ramps in the Pyrmont and Ultimo areas. Traffic is distributed into the CBD through various off ramps in Pyrmont and the western edge of the CBD, as well as into the Cross City Tunnel. The remaining traffic is fed onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Rozelle Interchange as part of WestConnex was completed in 2023 providing a freeway-standard route free of traffic lights from the Sydneys CBD to Emu Plains.

History

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Construction of the Western Distributor during the 1980s over the site of the Darling Harbour Yard
Western Distributor in 2006 (overpass on extreme top-right and middle-left of the picture)

The Western Distributor came to be out of the realisation in the early 1960s that the existing roads that supported the Harbour Bridge would not cope with contemporary and projected traffic volumes. Due to existing infrastructure and buildings in the area, it was decided to build a viaduct to carry traffic above the city streets.

The southbound carriageway from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Day Street opened 2 September 1972, the northbound carriageway on 30 September 1972, with the final stage connecting ramp from Pyrmont Bridge to the distributor’s northbound carriageway via Day Street opened 20 December 1972.[3][4]

On 24 May 1980, the westbound Day Street to Harris Street section over the Darling Harbour Yard opened bypassing the Pyrmont Bridge.[5][6][7] The eastbound section between Harris and Sussex streets opened on 7 August 19881 with the Pyrmont Bridge closed.[8] On 8 November 1981 the interim westbound route via Sussex Street and Day Place was replaced by a ramp from Market Street >[9] The final stage opened in December 1995 with the Anzac Bridge replacing the Glebe Island Bridge.[10][11]

The north-eastbound viaduct ramps leading towards Bradfield Highway, designed in 1967, was widened from 19 to 30 metres (62 to 98 ft) to accommodate a deck with a variable width from 2.3 to 5.5 metres (7 ft 7 in to 18 ft 1 in) and consists of a steel structure supported on reinforced concrete corbels.[12]

The Roads & Traffic Authority re-aligned the eastern end of Main Road 165 from its old route from Pyrmont, to the southern toll plaza of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Millers Point to the interchange with Pyrmont Bridge Road and Bank Street in Pyrmont (and continuing west across Bank Street and Glebe Island Bridge to Rozelle and along Victoria Road to Parramatta) on 22 January 1993,[2] later amended to use the Anzac Bridge instead on 28 February 2003.[13] Despite its role as a grade-separated motorway, the road is not officially gazetted as one by Transport for NSW classification, and is still considered today to be a main road.[14]

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993 updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Western Distributor retains its declaration as part of Main Road 165.[14]

Western Distributor was signed State Route 40 in 1981, and followed the route's re-alignment when Anzac Bridge opened in 1995. Its eastern half was also declared part of National Route 1, when it was re-aligned from its old route through the CBD along York and Clarence streets to its new route along Western Distributor to Harris Street (and continuing south along Harris Street to meet Princes Highway at Chippendale) in 1986, and removed when the Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened in 1992. It was quickly replaced in 1993 by Metroad 2 along the same alignment (and continuing south along Harris and Wattle Streets to terminate at Ultimo) until the Lane Cove Tunnel opened in 2007 and Metroad 2 was truncated to meet Gore Hill Freeway in Lane Cove. The whole route was also designated part of Metroad 4 when its eastern end was re-aligned on the opening of City West Link in 2000.[15] With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, State Route 40 was removed and Metroad 4 was replaced by route A4.[16]

Western end

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When it was built, it was described as the southern end of the F3 Freeway, as that was where the North West Freeway was intended to finish, however due to protests from inner city residents, this plan never came to fruition. Western Distributor ends west of the Anzac Bridge western ramp and east of the junction between Victoria Road and City West Link,[1] with traffic fed onto either of these roads.

Abandoned section

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Under the Western Distributor viaduct ramps at its northern end, between Sussex and Kent streets, there is an abandoned carriageway underneath the main roadway. It is a short section of elevated freeway; the top tier remains in constant use but the lower is suspended in the air; having been severed at each end.[17]

Exits and interchanges

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LGALocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
SydneyMillers Point0.00.0Bradfield Highway - North SydneyNorthern terminus of Western Distributor and route A4
Continues north as Bradfield Highway
Toll on southbound traffic from Bradfield Highway only, no toll northbound
Sydney0.30.19Grosvenor Street (one-way eastbound) – Sydney CBD
York Street (one-way southbound) – Sydney CBD		Southbound exits only
0.40.25Clarence Street (one-way northbound) – Sydney CBD
Kent Street – Sydney CBD		Northbound entrances only
1.00.62Sussex Street (one-way southbound) – Sydney CBD
King Street (one-way eastbound) – Sydney CBD		Northbound exit only
1.30.81Sussex Street (one-way southbound) – Sydney CBD
Market Street (one-way westbound) – Sydney CBD		Southbound entrance only
1.60.99Harbour Street – HaymarketSouthbound exit and northbound entrance only via underpass
Druitt Street (one-way westbound) – Sydney CBD
Bathurst Street (one-way eastbound) – Sydney CBD		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
Cross City Tunnel – East Sydney, Rushcutters Bay, to Eastern Distributor (M1 south)Westbound entrance and eastbound exit only
Sydney–Pyrmont boundary2.01.2Pyrmont Street – Pyrmont, UltimoEastbound entrance only
Pyrmont–Ultimo boundary2.11.3Harris Street – Pyrmont, Ultimo
Fig Street – Pyrmont, Ultimo		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
Pyrmont2.41.5Allen Street – UltimoEastbound exit only
2.61.6Pyrmont Bridge Road (east) – Pyrmont
Bridge Road (west) – Sydney Fish Market, Glebe
Bank Street (north) – Pyrmont		Westbound entrance from Pyrmont Bridge Road via Bank Street
Eastbound exit to Bridge Road via Bank Street
Johnstons Bay3.42.1Anzac Bridge
Inner WestRozelle4.02.5 M4 Motorway (M4) - Parramatta
Iron Cove Link - Ryde, Parramatta		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
4.32.7 Victoria Road (A40) - Balmain, Ryde, Parramatta
City West Link (A44) - Haberfield, Parramatta, PenrithWestern terminus of Western Distributor, continues west as City West Link
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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The road is referenced in the song "Hay Plain" by Australian artist Julia Jacklin.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Western Distributor" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b State Roads Act Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales issue 7 22 January 1993 pages 223–230
  3. ^ Western Distributor Main Roads December 1972 page 46
  4. ^ The Roadmakers (PDF). Department of Main Roads. 1976. p. 261.
  5. ^ Sydney's north western freeway a complex project Australian Transport January 1980 pages 12/13
  6. ^ City traffic changes you need to know about Sydney Morning Herald 23 May 1980
  7. ^ Opening of New Section of North Western Freeway Main Roads January 1981 page 14
  8. ^ Inward Section of F3 Opened Fleetline issue 74 September 1981 page 300
  9. ^ East Meets West Main Roads December 1981 pages 99-101
  10. ^ New Glebe Island Bridge Australian Bus Panorama issue 11/5 January 1996 page 27
  11. ^ Annual Report. Roads & Traffic Authority. 30 June 1996. p. 68.
  12. ^ Assi, Sarah. "Widening of Western Distributor Viaduct in Sydney NSW" (PDF). Convention Management New Zealand. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  13. ^ Roads Act 1993 Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales issue 54 28 February 2003 pages 2949/2950
  14. ^ a b Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads Transport for NSW August 2022
  15. ^ "NSW Metroad 4". Ozroads. Retrieved 14 May 2013.[self-published source]
  16. ^ Road number and name changes in NSW Roads & Maritime Services
  17. ^ "The Freeway to Nowhere". VisitSydneyAustralia.com.au. Phoenix Group Co. 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  18. ^ Julia Jacklin (7 October 2016). "Hay Plain". genius.com. Genius Media Group Inc. Retrieved 30 July 2018. And besides that truck driver on the Western Distributor Who caught me changing, etc
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Media related to Western Distributor at Wikimedia Commons