The M2 is a
route in
Sydney,
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia, that links Sydney suburbs from
Artarmon in the south-east to
Bella Vista in the north-west. The route consists of two separately named motorways, the
M2 Hills Motorway
The Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a tollway in north-western Sydney, Australia, owned by toll road operator Transurban. It forms majority of Sydney's M2 route and part of the 110 km Sy ...
and the
Lane Cove Tunnel
The Lane Cove Tunnel is an A$1.1 billion, 3.6 km twin-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia, which connects the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. It is owned by toll road operator Transurban and forms par ...
.
The M2 route replaces the motorway sections of what was known as
Metroad
Metroads were the primary road routes serving the Sydney and Brisbane metropolitan areas from the 1990s to the early 2010s. The Metroads formed a network of radial and circumferential routes throughout the cities, simplifying navigation. Metroads ...
2 from 1993 to 2013, with the non-motorway sections replaced by the A2 route (made up of
Windsor Road and
Old Windsor Road).
Lane Cove Tunnel and M2 Hills Motorway
The Lane Cove Tunnel was open to traffic in March 2007. Prior to the opening of the Lane Cove Tunnel, the Metroad 2 followed Epping Road, between the Pacific Highway and Mowbray Road west. The M2 Hills Motorway was opened nearly 10 years prior to the Lane Cove Tunnel in May 1997, replacing sections of Metroad 2 between North Ryde and Baulkham Hills, between Old Windsor road and Carlingford Road, along Epping Road to Delhi Road, Beecroft Road, Pennant Hills Road (Part of the Cumberland Highway), Castle Hill Road and Showground Road, Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road.
History of the Metroad 2 route
Prior to the opening of the M2 Hills Motorway in 1997, the Metroad 2 route ran along Epping Road, Beecroft Road, Pennant Hills Road (Part of the Cumberland Highway), Castle Hill Road and Showground Road, Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road. These former stretches were parts of State Routes 28 and 30 until Metroad 2 replaced them in November 1993.
The southern/eastern extremity of Metroad 2 was originally at the city end of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...
, with the
Warringah Freeway
The Warringah Freeway (also known as the Warringah Expressway) is a divided freeway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The freeway forms part of the M1, the Sydney Orbital Network, and the Highway 1 network. The primary f ...
and
Gore Hill Freeway
The Gore Hill Freeway is a divided freeway located in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network and the Highway 1 (Australia), Highway 1. The primary function of the freeway is to provide an alternative high-grade rout ...
duplexed as both Metroad 1 and Metroad 2. However the route was later truncated with Metroad 2 ending at the east end of the Lane Cove Tunnel.
In 2013 with the introduction of alphanumeric route numbers in New South Wales, Metroad 2 was decommissioned, with the motorway sections replaced by route M2, and the non-motorway sections (Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road) receiving the A2 marker.
See also
*
Highways in New South Wales
References
{{Road infrastructure in Sydney
Sydney Metroads