A new bridge at Western Sydney International practically as wide as the Sydney Harbour Bridge is open to motorists as the first phase of construction on Sydney’s new airport wraps up. Western Sydney Airport (WSA) chief executive officer Graham Millett said the new bridge was built as part of initial earthworks on the airport site and involved the realignment of 1.6km of Badgerys Creek Road, along with a new shared footpath for cyclists and pedestrians and construction of a new intersection at Elizabeth Drive.
“This is an exciting milestone for Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, with initial earthworks almost complete and part of the site officially opening to road users,” Mr Millett said.
“Technically we’ve built two bridges, one north bound and one south bound, both 39 metres long and with a combined width of 49 metres – around the same width as Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.
“Constructing the bridge was no mean feat – it’s built on 21 mammoth 45-ton girders manufactured with almost 900 tons of concrete. Around 20,000 tons of asphalt has been laid along the new road along with 116 new street lights being installed.
“As with most road works, there have been traffic changes for motorists and we thank them for their ongoing patience while this work takes place.”
Initial earthworks cover just six per cent of the 1,780-hectare airport site and involve moving 1.8 million cubic metres of earth.
Major earthworks will commence in the early part of this year and will involve moving more than 23 million cubic metres of earth to make way for the construction of the airport terminal and runway.
Western Sydney International will open in 2026 initially catering for up to 10 million international and domestic passengers per year.
