Western Distributor
Encyclopedia
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that links Victoria Road, White Bay
White Bay, New South Wales
White Bay is a bay on Sydney Harbour with a surrounding locality near the suburbs of Balmain and Rozelle in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
(Rozelle), with the Bradfield Highway
Bradfield Highway, Sydney
The Bradfield Highway is a highway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. At 2.4 km long it is one of the shortest highways in Australia....
at the southern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
. It is part of Metroad 4
Metroad 4
Metroad 4 is a Metroad in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It connects the inner-west of Sydney with the outer western suburbs. It mostly follows what was previously National Highway 32 from the Western Distributor in the CBD, west to the Great Western Highway at Lapstone...
.
History
Due to existing infrastructure and buildings in the area, it was decided to build a viaduct to carry traffic above the city streets.
The Western Distributor was opened in stages starting in September 1972, with the last stage being the Anzac Bridge which was opened in December 1995.
The distributor also replaces the former congested route out of the city via the Pyrmont Bridge
Pyrmont Bridge
The Pyrmont Bridge is a swing bridge over Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia.-History and description:The first Pyrmont Bridge was opened on 17 March 1858, and was a wooden pile bridge with a iron centre swing span...
(closed in 1988) and the Glebe Island Bridge (closed in 1995 with the opening of Anzac bridge).
Abandoned section
Underneath the Western Distributor 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.Route
It is an unusual motorway as, citybound, it heads East, South East after the Anzac BridgeANZAC Bridge
The ANZAC Bridge or Anzac Bridge , replacing the earlier Glebe Island Bridge, is a large cable-stayed bridge spanning Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Glebe Island in proximity to the central business district of Sydney, Australia...
, East, North then North East.
The freeway distributes traffic arriving from the north (a function which gives the road its name) 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
City West Link Road
City West Link Road is a link road in Sydney, Australia. It makes up a section of Metroad 4 between Leichhardt, Haberfield and Five Dock. As such, it provides an alternative route to Parramatta Road into Sydney's CBD from the Inner-West....
, 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
Cross City Tunnel
The Cross City Tunnel is a 2.1 km-long tunnel located in Sydney, Australia. It links Darling Harbour on the Western fringe of the central business district to Rushcutters Bay in the Eastern Suburbs...
. The remaining traffic is fed into the Bradfield Highway, as it is not possible for northbound traffic to exit onto the Cahill Expressway (traffic travelling east on the Western Distributor wishing to reach the eastern edge of the CBD and beyond must either travel through the Cross City Tunnel or negotiate the packed streets of the CBD).
Planned links
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.Today, the Western Distributor ends at the Victoria Road
Victoria Road, Sydney
Victoria Road is a major road in Sydney, Australia.Victoria Road connects Parramatta with the Rozelle end of Anzac Bridge. Victoria Road passes through the Sydney suburbs of Rydalmere, Ermington, West Ryde, Ryde, Gladesville and Drummoyne and is currently one of the longest roads in Sydney.The road...
- City West Link intersection, with traffic fed onto either of these roads.