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Hume Highway (South Western Freeway) & South Western Motorway (Metroad 5) - Historic Images: Casula to St Andrews (Decommissioned)

• Length: 44 km (Casula to St Andrews: 15 km)
• North Eastern Terminus: Interchange with General Holmes Drive (Metroad 1) at Kyeemagh, near Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney.
• South Western Terminus: Interchange with Narellan Road (Metroad 9) and Hume Highway (NH31) at Campbelltown.
• Miscellaneous: South Western Mwy offical end is at Prestons, where the road name switches to Hume Highway. Continues as NH31 from Narellan Road interchange at Campbelltown.
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Casula, Lurnea, Prestons, Glenfield and Ingleburn

Route Numbering:

• Former:
• Decommissioned: 2013
• Road Authority Internal Classification: HW2 (Casula to Campbelltown) 1

General Information:

Metroad 5 is a major arterial route from the Airport and CBD to the south-western suburbs of Sydney. It is the only Metroad that is fully freeway standard, which was acheived in December 2002 when traffic lights that operated at Moorebank (Moorebank Av) for over 15 years were switched off, being replaced by an overpass.

The Casula bypass and Moorebank Avenue to King Georges Road sections are owned by Interlink Roads Pty Limited. The M5 East, the Liverpool Bridge and the Hume Highway are RTA owned. The tolling arrangements on the tolled section started as a 30 year operating contract, with the original date of reverting to the public being August 2022. However the Moorebank Avenue overpass works have extended the contract by 1.1 years, putting the revised reversion date at September 2023.

The Glenfield to Woodbine section of the freeway was once part of the NSW freeway numbering scheme and used to be numbered F5. Which was phased out in the 1980s, replaced with National Highway 31.

History:

• 26 October 1973: A six mile (9.7 km) section of the South Western Freeway (formerly F5, now Hume Hwy (Metroad 5)) from Cross Roads to Raby Road opened. 2
• December 1974: Construction completed between Camden Valley Way at The Crossroads to Narellan Road completed. 2
• August 1992: Metroad 5 between Moorebank Avenue to King Georges Road opened to traffic.
• 1994: Casula bypass opens to traffic, replacing the urban arterial Hume Highway / Campbelltown Road link for through traffic between Casula and Glenfield.
• December 2001: The M5 East opened between King Georges Road and General Holmes Drive, providing easier access to the International Airport.
• December 2002: Traffic lights that operated at the Moorebank Avenue intersection at Moorebank for over 15 years were switched off, being replaced by an overpass.

The photos shown below are scanned from the DMR publication South Western Freeway, F5 from The Cross Roads near Liverpool to Aylmerton near Mittagong, which was published in December 1980.

Preview:	Description:
	Earthworks: Early stages of earthworks in progress, April 1974, near Ingleburn. Image © Deparment of Main Roads New South Wales
	McDonald Road: Twin bridge structures carry the Hume Hwy (South Western Fwy) over McDonald Rd (formerly Aero Rd) near Ingleburn. Image © Deparment of Main Roads New South Wales
	Brooks Road: Brooks Rd overbridge near Ingleburn in February 1973, prior to the opening to traffic of the first section of freeway. The bridge was renamed to the Darren Stacey Bridge around 2003 in honor of triathlete Darren Stacey, who was killed in the breakdown lane on the freeway by a semi trailer in March 2000. 3 Image © Deparment of Main Roads New South Wales
	Brooks Road Interchange: A completed section of the freeway (from the Brooks Rd interchange), looking north at Denham Court, August 1975. The bridge was renamed to the Darren Stacey Bridge around 2003 in honor of triathlete Darren Stacey, who was killed in the breakdown lane on the freeway by a semi trailer in March 2000. 3 Image © Deparment of Main Roads New South Wales

1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads (and unclassified Regional Roads), 25 February 2008
2 Department of Main Roads New South Wales, South Western Freeway, F5 from The Cross Roads near Liverpool to Aylmerton near Mittagong
3 Campbelltown City Council, Reports of the City Works Committee Meeting held at 5:30 pm on Tuesday 25 March 2003

Last updated: 08 Nov 2019 01:09

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