NSW METROAD 2
Former Alignment: Baulkham Hills

A partially hidden lane-allocation AD sign, westbound on Abbott Road approaching Old Windsor Road. April 2005.

Lifespan: 1997-2005 (8 years)

Length: 2km

Northern Terminus: Westlink M7 & Old Windsor Rd, Bella Vista

Southern Terminus: Hills (M2) Motorway & Abbott Rd, Baulkham Hills

Route taken: Epping Road, Beecroft Rd, Pennant Hills Rd, Castle Hill Rd, Old Northern Rd, Showground Rd, Windsor Rd

When the Hills (M2) Motorway was opened to traffic in May 1997, Metroad 2 was re-routed onto the new motorway which terminated at the intersection of Abbott and Old Windsor Roads, Baulkham Hills. Metroad 2 thence turned north onto Old Windsor Road, following it to Windsor Road and thence to Windsor.

When the Westlink M7 motorway was opened to traffic in December 2005, a bypass of the section of Old Windsor Road between Abbott and Seven Hills Roads was created, and Metroad was re-routed onto it. However, signage installed was typically confusing - to the least - so it is certainly not clear to the untrained eye which route Metroad 2 now takes. I believe, officially, the Metroad 2 has been re-routed onto the Westlink M7 between Abbott and Old Windsor Roads, and most signs reflect this. The signs that remain on the bypassed section of Old Windsor Road can now be classed as "relics" or "remnants".

Photos of Metroad 2 former alignment: Baulkham Hills
	Not really a remnant but this sign, installed in December 2005, does indicate that Metroad 2 once went via Abbott and Old Windsor Roads. The Metroad 2 shield is on a coverplate over an A40 shield, and the proper treatment here should have been a blank coverplate. Nov 2006.
	Abbott Road eastbound approaching the beginning of the M2 Motorway at Seven Hills. Note the M7 shield (next to the Metroad 2 shield straight) has been strangely coverplated and there is a stray State Route 40 shield. This is an error - Old Windsor Rd is to become route A40 when alpha-numeric route marking is introduced. March 2006.
	Old, pre-M7 signage, northbound on Old Windsor Rd approaching the beginning of the M2 Motorway at Seven Hills. March 2005.
	Distance sign northbound on Old Windsor Road, heading up the hill from Abbott Road at Seven Hills. March 2005.
	Old Windsor Road northbound approaching Seven Hills Road. Note the transitway underpass on the left. March 2005.
	Distance sign on Old Windsor Road, heading south from Seven Hills Road. March 2006.
	This sign actually dates from the days of the Old Windsor Rd/Seven Hills Rd intersection being a roundabout. Somehow it has remained and now serves little purpose other than to remind us that this section of Old Windsor Rd was once part of Metroad 2. March 2006.
	Distance sign heading north from Seven Hills Rd. Note the unsual location of the sign (on the far right of driver's vision) and the near identical distance sign which is hidden behind bushes in the median strip. March 2006.

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