Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

Lane Cove Tunnel, Hills Motorway, Old Windsor Road, Windsor Road & Bridge Street (Metroad 2)

Statistics:

• Length: 46 km
• Eastern Terminus: Pacific Highway (Metroad 1), Gore Hill Freeway (Metroad 1) and Longueville Road, Lane Cove
• Western Terminus: Bridge Street and Macquarie Street, Windsor
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Lane Cove, Lane Cove West, Lane Cove North, North Ryde, Macquarie Park, Marsfield, Epping, Cheltenham, Beecroft, West Pennant Hills, North Rocks, Baulkham Hills, Winston Hills, Seven Hills, Bella Vista, Glenwood, Kellyville, Beaumont Hills, Rouse Hill, Box Hill, Riverstone, Vineyard, McGraths Hills, Mulgrave and Windsor.

Route Numbering:

• Current:
• Multiplexed with:
• RTA Internal Classification: Main Road 635 (Old Windsor Road) / Main Road 184 (Windsor Road) *

General Information:

Metroad 2 is a major route located in the Sydney area, linking the northwestern suburbs with Sydney's inner suburbs, and eventually via, several other routes to the central business district.

The standard of the route varies from multi-laned arterial road through to freeway standard (covered by the 21 km long Hills Mwy) *. It passes through inner city suburbs, residential areas, light industrial areas and semi-rural areas.

The Hills Motorway segment of Metroad 2 was funded and built by the private sector which will operate, maintain and repair the motorway until 2042, when it will revert to the ownership of the NSW government. The Hills Motorway consists of a four-lane expressway plus a two-lane busway (between the east-bound and west-bound carriageways) from Beecroft Road to Old Windsor Road, breakdown lanes and cyclist lanes. *

The route has gone through a number of signficant changes since it was introduced, along with Sydney's other Metroads back in the 1990s. Several changes to routing have occured, massive upgrades between Seven Hills and Windsor and more. Details of the changes are covered in the history section below.

Metroad 2 features the following multiplexes:

• M7 from Abbott Road / Old Windsor Road interchange to Pennant Hills Road (Cumberland Highway) interchange at West Pennant Hills
• State Route 40 from Bridge Street Windsor to Windsor Road at Kellyville.

The introduction of M7 is the first official public display of alphanumeric route numbering in New South Wales, however there has been several instances of incorrectly uncovered alphanumeric shields across the state.

History:

The Roads and Traffic Authority's Heritage Register features a detailed history on the route, and can be found here.

• 1792 onwards: Construction of what is now named Windsor Road and Old Windsor Road. *
• 1794: A road was established between the Green Hills / Hawkesbury area and the older settlement at Parramatta. *
• 1797: Governor Hunter ordered landholders to undertake road improvements along the Hawkesbury Road, including widening the road to 20 feet. (This is the date for the creation of the Windsor Road as a carriageway). *
• 1802: A bridge was constructed at a new South Creek crossing of the Windsor Road, financed by tolls, and replacing the previous punt crossing further east. The current road alignment at South Creek dates from this time. The earlier road alignment, leading to the punt crossing, is reflected in the alignment of the present day Hawkesbury Road. *
• 1805: Surveyor James Meehan surveyed an alignment between Parramatta and Kellyville which became the basis for the (New) Windsor Road in 1813. *
• 1810: Governor Macquarie established five towns along the Hawkesbury River: Windsor, Richmond, Pitt Town, Wilberforce, and Castlereagh. A contractor, James Harrex, was engaged to build a new turnpike road between Parramatta and Kellyville, following Meehan's 1805 alignment via Castle Hill. This new alignment would avoid the hilly section (referred to by Governor King in 1803 as "the Seven Hills") of the original (Old) Windsor Road. The new alignment also enabled a more direct route to the Hawkesbury from Sydney. *
• 1812: Upon the failure of James Harrex to complete the new road works, John Howe took over and completed the contract, which included the construction of 70 bridges. The new road was 32 feet wide and alignment stones marked the carriageway. *
• 1810s: Governor Macquarie introduced a toll system on the Windsor Road with toll gates north of Parramatta and south of Rouse Hill. *
• 1816: Construction of a toll house at Rouse Hill. *
• 11 September 1833: Windsor Road was proclaimed as a Main Road and gazetted, with Old Windsor Road being declared a Parish Road. *
• 1835 A toll house, the second on the site, was constructed at the South Creek crossing near Windsor. *
• 1849: The Windsor Road Trust was formed to oversee maintenance of the Windsor Road. *
• 1853: Fitzroy Bridge constructed across South Creek at Windsor, replacing the earlier Howe's Bridge. *
• 1924: The Department of Public Works used water-based macadam in reconstructing the Windsor Road near Rouse Hill. Water-based macadam was an improved road surface treatment necessitated by the rapid rise of the motor vehicle. *
• 1926: A bitumen coating was laid completed on Windsor Road near Rouse Hill, and renewed in 1928-9. *
• 22 May 1928: Windsor Road, together with Bells Line of Road and the Darling Causeway was announced as Main Road 184. *
• 1940s: Cutting and filling of the Old Windsor and Windsor Roads was reportedly undertaken by the United States military to prepare evacuation routes should a Japanese invasion take place in Sydney. *
• 1948: Shoulders of the Windsor Road were widened to 22 feet to provide for anticipated traffic. *
• 1981-1984: High-level bridges constructed by the Department of Main Roads over Pye's Crossing and Johnston's Bridge. The last unmade section of Old Windsor Road was surfaced by Blacktown and Baulkham Hills Councils. *
• 26 May 1997: Hills Motorway opens to traffic, given Metroad 2 designation. *
• October 2002: Upgrade to four lanes from Norbrik to Celebration Drive, Glenwood completed. *
• March 2002: Upgrade to four lanes from Sunnyholt Road to Merriville Road, Kellyville completed. *
• June 2002: Upgrade to four lanes from Henry Road to Curtis Road, Vineyard completed. *
• February 2003: Intersection improvements at Old Windsor Road and Seven Hills Road, and Seven Hills Road to Abbott Road, Seven Hills completed. *
• August 2003: Upgrade to four lanes from Merriville Road to Scholfields Road, Rouse Hill completed. *
• April 2004: Upgrade to four lanes from Schofields Road to Mile End Road, Rouse Hill completed, and also the upgrade to four lanes from Level Crossing Road to Henry Road, Vineyard completed, plus the upgrade to four lanes from Curtis Road, Vineyard to Pitt Town Road, McGraths Hill completed. *
• December 2004: Upgrade to four lanes from Norwest Boulevarde to Showground Road, Castle Hill completed *
• July 2006: Upgrade to four lanes from Roxborough Park Road to Norwest Boulevards, Baulkham Hills completed, also the upgrade to four lanes from Acres Road to Old Windsor Road, Kellyville completed. *
• September 2006: Upgrade to four lanes from Boundary Road to Level Crossing Road, Vineyard completed. *
• December 2006: Upgrade to four lanes opened to traffic from Mile End Road, Rouse Hill to Boundary Road, Box Hill. *
• March 2007: Metroad 2 rerouted from Epping and Longueville Roads to the then newly opened Lane Cove Tunnel. *

Click here for construction photos taken during the upgrade of Windsor Road and Old Windsor Road.
Click here for former alignment photos of the Metroad 2 / State Route 40 alignment between Seven Hills and Windsor.

* Information courtesy of the Roads and Traffic Authority

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