GORE HILL FREEWAY: Construction Information |
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Overview |
The Gore Hill Freeway is an east-west freeway running for 2.5km between the Warringah Freeway at Willoughby Rd, Naremburn to Longueville Rd at Pacific Hwy, Lane Cove. The entire route is 4-lanes including a 1km viaduct above parkland in Naremburn. The Gore Hill Freeway was first proposed in the County of Cumberland Planning Scheme (1951), in which it was a link between the Warringah Freeway (then planned to extend north of Middle Harbour) and Pacific Hwy at Lane Cove. The corridor was gazetted in 1953 at the same time as the Warringah. During 1970, the Department of Main Roads announced its construction timeline for the Warringah and Gore Hill Freeways, placing a 1980 commencement date on the Gore Hill, soon as the Warringah was completed to Frenchs Forest, construction of the Gore Hill would begin. The bridge carrying the North Shore Railway over the freeway would be commenced 9 years earlier as it was much more difficult to construct than the rest of the freeway. Delays in constructing the first extension of the Warringah Freeway kept pushing the Gore Hill commencement date further and further back until, finally, in August 1977, the NSW Premier, Neville Wran, announced teh cancellation of most freeway proposals within 20km of the City. The Warringah extensions were all canned, however, the Gore Hill proposal remained 'as a long-term proposal, with a low priority.
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Construction |
That long term proposal became reality in the mid-1980's with an injection of federal funding as part of the 'Bicentennial Roads Program'. Construction was commenced in August 1988. The first stage included reconstructing the Warringah Fwy/Willoughby Rd intersection at Naremburn and the Pacific Hwy/Longueville Rd intersection at Lane Cove, with half-diamond interchanges so that construction of the mainline could commence without interrupting traffic. A SPUI (Single-Point Urban Interchange) was built at Reserve Rd to provide access to the Artarmon industrial area and the Royal North Shore Hospital. A right-hand exit was required due to the close proximity of the Pacific hwy ramps to the interchange. This unique set-up means westbound traffic from Reserve Rd cannot exit onto Pacific Hwy and vice-versa. Difficulties in construction included unstable footings around the North Shore Railway bridge, the viaduct required through Naremburn and the redesign of Willoughby Rd intersection. Construction was completed and opened to traffic on 26 August 1992.
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Future Improvemtents & Extensions |
Lane Cove Tunnel Project: The Lane Cove Tunnel Project will connect the Gore Hill Freeway to the Hills Motorway at Lane Cove River via twin 2-3 lane tunnels beneath Longuevilel and Epping Roads. This is the final link int eh Sydney Orbital Motorway Network. As part of this project, the Pacific Hwy interchange will be partially reconstructed with new tunnel ramps to and from the west and a new transit lane in each direction for the entire length of the freeway. This will markedly increase the capacity of the freeway and provide quicker bus services to and from the north-west. Construction is expected to be completed in 2008. |