NorthConnex Motorway link advancing, but how much will the government pay for 50 properties that need destroying?

NorthConnex Motorway link advancing, but how much will the government pay for 50 properties that need destroying?
Jennifer DukeDecember 7, 2020

In an ASX announcement, Lend Lease indicated that they are now the appointed preferred tenderer for the nine kilometre NorthConnex Motorway design and construction in Sydney.

Partnering with French construction group Bouygues Construction to deliver the project, the joint venture contract award is still subject to planning approval being obtained and contract terms finalised. The entire link is expected to be open for 2019.

While north west Sydney residents, notably those in the underserviced Hills District, will be excited by the news, they’re likely to be less so by the recent discovery by Ninemsn that more than 50 properties will need to be destroyed for the project.

The $2.65 billion project is a tolled link that spans from the southern end of the M1 Pacific Motorway, which long time Sydneysiders are likely to know of as the F3 Freeway, at Wahroonga, to the Hills’ M2 Motorway at the Pennant Hills Road interchange.

As anyone who has lived and commuted in the north-west area for any length of time can tell you – it’s much needed.

The project itself is in the hands of Transurban Limited and partners Westlink M7.

On Tuesday, however, a spokesperson for the New South Wales government’s Roads Minister Duncan Gay told Ninemsn that potentially 52 commercial, industrial and residential properties would need to be acquired and destroyed. And the compensation for the owners is still unclear.

The properties in questions are those along the route itself and those at main work sites and where the existing roads need to be altered.

"It is too early to determine the level of compensation required - the project team is committed to working closely with those affected to allow the necessary acquisition to be progressed ahead of work starting in 2015,” the spokesperson was reported as saying.

Whether property owners have or have not been contacted yet is unclear.

It is noted that the $2.65 billion total for the project includes funds for required acquisitions. You can see the route online.

The route heads through Thornleigh, Normanhurst, Wahroonga and West Pennant Hills, many of which have properties that span into the millions of dollars and some in markets that saw fairly impressive results last year.

Some of the particular roads that appear to be near to the action on the maps include the Hills District’s Wilson Road, Darling Mills Creek, Barclay Road and Yale Close. Within the Northern ventilation includes Woonona Avenue and Bareena Avenue.

Ventilation outlets are also identified at Coral Tree Drive, Karloon Road. See the detailed map for more information.

If you know of any properties to be acquired throughout this process, contact us: jduke@propertyobserver.com.au

Jennifer Duke

Jennifer Duke was a property writer at Property Observer

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