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78-902: The Westlink M7 is a 40-kilometre (25 mi) tolled urban motorway in Sydney , New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network . Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: the M5 South-West Motorway at Prestons , the M4 Western Motorway at Eastern Creek , and the M2 Hills Motorway at Baulkham Hills . Westlink M7 begins at the Roden Cutler Interchange ,

156-868: A Y-junction with the M31 Hume Motorway and M5 South-West Motorway at Prestons , and weaves to the west of Liverpool to the junction of Elizabeth Road and Wallgrove Road in Abbotsbury . From then on it runs parallel to Wallgrove Road north towards the Great Western Highway and the Light Horse interchange, a stack junction with the M4 . Continuing north, it leads to Minchinbury and follows alongside Rooty Hill Road up to Dean Park at an exit with Rooty Hill Road North and Richmond Road . From this junction, Westlink M7 turns eastward along

234-602: A flat fee either when they enter or when they exit the toll road. In a variant of the closed toll system, mainline barriers are present at the two endpoints of the toll road, and each interchange has a ramp toll that is paid upon exit or entry. In this case, a motorist pays a flat fee at the ramp toll and another flat fee at the end of the toll road; no ticket is necessary. In addition, with most systems, motorists may pay tolls only with cash or change; debit and credit cards are not accepted. However, some toll roads may have travel plazas with ATMs so motorists can stop and withdraw cash for

312-464: A general fund by local governments, not being earmarked for transport facilities. This is sometimes limited or prohibited by central government legislation. Also, road congestion pricing schemes have been implemented in a limited number of urban areas as a transportation demand management tool to try to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution . Toll roads have existed for at least the last 2,700 years, as tolls had to be paid by travellers using

390-442: A specific infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges). These concepts were widely used until the last century. However, the evolution in technology made it possible to implement road tolling policies based on different concepts. The different charging concepts are designed to suit different requirements regarding purpose of the charge, charging policy, the network to the charge, tariff class differentiation, et cetera: Some toll roads charge

468-604: A toll in only one direction. Examples include the Sydney Harbour Bridge , Sydney Harbour Tunnel , and Eastern Distributor (these all charge tolls city-bound) in Australia, in the United States, crossings between Pennsylvania and New Jersey operated by Delaware River Port Authority and crossings between New Jersey and New York operated by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . This technique

546-603: Is practical where the detour to avoid the toll is large or the toll differences are small. Traditionally, tolls were paid by hand at a toll gate. Although payments may still be made in cash, it is more common now to pay using an electronic toll collection system. In some places, payment is made using transponders which are affixed to the windscreen. Three systems of toll roads exist: open (with mainline barrier toll plazas ); closed (with entry/exit tolls); and open road (no toll booths, only electronic toll collection gantries at entrances and exits or at strategic locations on

624-564: Is the largest ETC system in the U.S., and is used for both fully tolled highways and tolled express lanes. Maryland Route 200 and the Triangle Expressway in North Carolina were the first toll roads built without toll booths, with drivers charged via ETC or by optical license plate recognition and are billed by mail. In addition, many older toll roads are also being upgraded to an all-electronic tolling system, abandoning

702-727: The CPI and heavy vehicle tolls are three times the toll for a car and motorcycle. Toll road Toll roads have existed in some form since antiquity , with tolls levied on passing travelers on foot, wagon, or horseback; a practice that continued with the automobile, and many modern tollways charge fees for motor vehicles exclusively. The amount of the toll usually varies by vehicle type, weight, or number of axles , with freight trucks often charged higher rates than cars. Tolls are often collected at toll plazas, toll booths , toll houses , toll stations, toll bars, toll barriers, or toll gates. Some toll collection points are automatic, and

780-975: The Maine Turnpike in 1947, the Blue Star Turnpike in 1950, the New Jersey Turnpike in 1951, the Garden State Parkway in 1952, the West Virginia Turnpike and New York State Thruway in 1954, the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1957, and the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road in 1958. Other toll roads were also established around this time. With the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in

858-622: The New South Wales Police , Commercial Agents & Private Inquiry Agents cards and mobility parking permits. Within NSW, the Transport Management Centre was responsible for managing special events and unplanned incidents and disseminating information to motorists. It is the central point for identifying and directing the response to incidents such as crashes, breakdowns and spills. It passes on information to

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936-695: The Susa – Babylon highway under the regime of Ashurbanipal , who reigned in the seventh century BC. Aristotle and Pliny refer to tolls in Arabia and other parts of Asia. In India, before the fourth century BC, the Arthashastra notes the use of tolls. Germanic tribes charged tolls to travellers across mountain passes . Most roads were not freely open to travel on in Europe during the Middle Ages, and

1014-591: The West African kingdom of Dahomey , toll booths were also established with the function of collecting yearly taxes based on the goods carried by the people of Dahomey and their occupation. In some cases, officials imposed fines for public nuisance before allowing people to pass. Industrialisation in Europe needed major improvements to the transport infrastructure which included many new or substantially improved roads, financed from tolls. The A5 road in Britain

1092-572: The federal government , the RTA also managed the NSW national highway system. The agency was abolished in 2011 and replaced by Roads & Maritime Services . The Department of Main Roads (DMR) was established in November 1932, and undertook works across New South Wales, including maintenance of all major roads into Sydney and programs of road reconstruction, construction, upgrading and rerouting. The DMR

1170-503: The toll was one of many feudal fees paid for rights of usage in everyday life. Some major European "highways", such as the Via Regia and Via Imperii , offered protection to travelers in exchange for paying the royal toll. Many modern European roads were originally constructed as toll roads in order to recoup the costs of construction and maintenance, and to generate revenue from passing travelers. In 14th-century England, some of

1248-416: The "closed motorway system" (km travelled) or through the "open motorway system" (flat-rate toll). Given the multiplicity of operators, the toll is only requested when exiting the motorway and not when the motorway operator changes. This system was made possible following article 14 of law 531 of 12 August 1982. From a technical point of view, however, the mixed barrier/free-flow system is active where, at

1326-474: The 19th century. Roads radiating from Toronto required users to pay at toll gates along the street ( Yonge Street , Bloor Street , Davenport Road , Kingston Road ) but the toll gates disappeared after 1895. In the eastern United States of the 18th and 19th century, hundreds of private turnpikes were created to facilitate travel between towns and cities, typically outside built-up areas. 19th-century plank roads were usually operated as toll roads. One of

1404-720: The BOT arrangement, a few of the older toll roads in these states are still operated by public authorities. In France, some toll roads are operated by private or public companies, with specific taxes collected by the state. Roads %26 Traffic Authority The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads. In addition, with assistance from

1482-528: The BOT methodology for future highway projects. The more traditional means of managing toll roads in the United States is through semi-autonomous public authorities . Kansas , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , and West Virginia manage their toll roads in this manner. While most of the toll roads in California, Delaware, Florida, Texas, and Virginia are operating under

1560-747: The M4 and M7 motorways. The stack interchange is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. It was named in honour of an Australian World War One formation, the Australian Light Horse . Western Sydney is the fastest growing part of the Sydney metropolitan area. Pennant Hills and Woodville Roads (signed as Ring Road 5, then as State Route 55), then later Cumberland Highway (State Route 77), were originally built as bypasses for Sydney, had instead become primary arteries through

1638-544: The NSW government and will expire in June 2048 instead. The Westlink was built as a fully tolled, gateless motorway employing electronic payment, with an initial toll-free period that ended on 15 January 2006. The toll for a car or motorcycle was originally 29.91 cents per kilometre, capped after 20 kilometres (12 mi) at $ 5.98. On 1 April 2006, this increased to 30.07 cents per kilometre, capped after 20 kilometres (12 mi) at $ 6.01. Tolls are adjusted quarterly according to

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1716-562: The NSW government to widen the M7 and construct the M7 and M12 Motorway interchange simultaneously. This was aimed to reduce the disruption to M7 traffic and provide project delivery efficiencies for the M7–M12 interchange. In August 2020, the proposal has moved to Stage 2 of the process with further progression to Stage 3 in May 2022. When first incorporated, WSO Co. Pty Limited (commonly known as Westlink)

1794-501: The RMS was dissolved by act of parliament and merged with Transport for NSW. The Roads & Traffic Authority was divided into six regions: The Roads & Traffic Authority had managed 4,787 bridges and 17,623 km (10,950 mi) of state roads and highways , including 3,105 km (1,929 mi) of national highways , and employed 6,900 staff in more than 180 offices throughout NSW, including 129 Motor Registries Offices. The RTA

1872-793: The South to the North. The road connects the southwest of the city, including the Sea Port area, with the Ring Road, Vasilievsky Island, Kurortny district and the Scandinavia motorway. The WHSD is divided into three sections: Southern, Central and Northern. The entire stretch of the WHSD was opened for traffic in 2016. There are 16 toll plazas on the WHSD. Paying toll by transponder is mostly recommended for frequent drivers. The Flow+ toll collection system

1950-464: The U.S. saw large road building projects in major urban areas. Electronic toll collection, first introduced in the 1980s, reduces operating costs by removing toll collectors from roads. Tolled express lanes, by which certain lanes of a freeway are designated "toll only", increases revenue by allowing a free-to-use highway to collect revenue by allowing drivers to bypass traffic jams by paying a toll. The E-ZPass system, compatible with many state systems,

2028-497: The beltways around some larger cities ( tangenziali ) which are not part of a thoroughfare motorway, and the Autostrada A2 between Salerno and Reggio di Calabria which is operated by the government-owned ANAS . Both are toll free. On Italian motorways, the toll applies to almost all motorways not managed by Anas . The collection of motorway tolls, from a tariff point of view, is managed mainly in two ways: either through

2106-766: The brand I-Pass in Illinois ) is accepted on almost all toll roads. Similar systems include SunPass in Florida , FasTrak in California , Good to Go in Washington state , and ExpressToll in Colorado . The systems use a small radio transponder mounted in or on a customer's vehicle to deduct toll fares from a pre-paid account as the vehicle passes through the toll barrier. This reduces manpower at toll booths and increases traffic flow and fuel efficiency by reducing

2184-461: The centre of the city tolled. In the United States, as states looked for ways to construct new freeways without federal funding again, to raise revenue for continued road maintenance, and to control congestion, new toll road construction saw significant increases during the first two decades of the 21st century. Spurred on by two innovations, the electronic toll collection system, and the advent of high-occupancy and express lane tolls , many areas of

2262-501: The contract valued at A$ 1.8 billion was awarded to a joint venture between Abigroup and Leighton Contractors (ALJV) with design work undertaken by a further joint venture by Maunsell AECOM and SMEC (Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) with further subcontracting to other designers ( Arup ) and independent verification by Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM). The passing of the Roads Act of 1993 updated road classifications and

2340-410: The distance travelled. Motorway barriers are arranged along the route (however not at every junction), at which the user pays a fixed sum, depending only on the class of the vehicle. The user can therefore travel along sections of the motorway without paying any toll as the barriers may not be present on the section travelled. Road tolls were levied traditionally for a specific access (e.g. city) or for

2418-406: The entrance and exit from the motorways, there are lanes dedicated to the collection of a ticket (on entry) and the delivery of the ticket with simultaneous payment (on exit) and other lanes where, during transit without the need to stop, an electronic toll system present in the vehicles records the data and debits the toll, generally into the bank account previously communicated by the customer, to

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2496-642: The event includes the first quarter collected at its toll booths. The first major deployment of an RFID electronic toll collection system in the United States was on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989 by Amtech (see TollTag ). The Amtech RFID technology used on the Dallas North Tollway was originally developed at Sandia Labs for use in tagging and tracking livestock. In the same year, the Telepass active transponder RFID system

2574-402: The expenses by introducing a toll. It was followed by Greece, which made users pay for the network of motorways around and between its cities in 1927. Later in the 1950s and 1960s, France, Spain, and Portugal started to build motorways largely with the aid of concessions, allowing rapid development of this infrastructure without massive state debts. Since then, road tolls have been introduced in

2652-549: The first US motor roads, the Long Island Motor Parkway (which opened on October 10, 1908) was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt II, the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt . The road was closed in 1938 when it was taken over by the state of New York in lieu of back taxes. The first toll road in St. Petersburg appeared in the 2000s. The Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) is a multilane motorway running from

2730-513: The first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore , and now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9 , was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924. Piero Puricelli, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, received the first authorization to build a public-utility fast road in 1921, and completed the construction (one lane in each direction) between 1924 and 1926. Piero Puricelli decided to cover

2808-477: The hexagonal Metroad shield. On 25 December 2005, just 9 days after opening, the motorway suffered its first fatality: a 12-year-old boy died at Cecil Park when the four-wheel drive he was travelling in rolled down an embankment and onto Elizabeth Drive, almost crushing another car. In 2020, WSO – then already a business of the NorthWestern Roads Group – submitted an unsolicited proposal to

2886-467: The highway the first all-automated toll highway in the world. A bill is mailed monthly for usage of the 407. Lower charges are levied on frequent 407 users who carry electronic transponders in their vehicles. The approach has not been without controversy: In 2003 the 407 ETR settled a class action with a refund to users. Throughout most of the East Coast of the United States, E-ZPass (operated under

2964-405: The highway. In some cases, the ticket displays the toll to be paid on exit. Upon exit, the driver must pay the amount listed for the given exit. Should the ticket be lost, a driver must typically pay the maximum amount possible for travel on that highway. Short toll roads with no intermediate entries or exits may have only one toll plaza at one end, with motorists travelling in either direction paying

3042-732: The hybrid systems they adopted during the late 20th century. These include the Massachusetts Turnpike , one of the oldest American toll roads, which went all-electronic in 2016, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike , America's oldest toll freeway, which went all-electronic in 2020, along with the Illinois Tollway , which both accelerated their transitions to such due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Turnpike trusts were established in England and Wales from about 1706 in response to

3120-467: The late 1950s, toll road construction in the U.S. slowed down considerably, as the federal government now provided the bulk of funding to construct new freeways, and regulations required that such Interstate highways be free from tolls. Many older toll roads were added to the Interstate System under a grandfather clause that allowed tolls to continue to be collected on toll roads that predated

3198-428: The latter two having a 47.5% shareholding each and Leighton having a 5% shareholding. In August 2008, Transurban and MIG exercised their pre-emptive rights and acquired Leighton's 5% stake equally, increasing their shareholding to 50% each. In December 2008, MIG announced it would sell its 50% stake of Westlink to Western Sydney Road Group (WSRG), of which MIG owned 50% and Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) owning

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3276-454: The longest free-flowing (no toll booths) toll road in the world at the time. More than 90 bridges (of four different types) and the largest shared path network in the Southern Hemisphere. The design, construct, operate and maintain contract worth at least A$ 2.0 billion was awarded to WSO (Western Sydney Orbital Pty Ltd) by the Roads & Traffic Authority . The design and construct portion of

3354-400: The mainline toll plazas (toll barriers). It is also possible for motorists to enter an 'open toll road' after one toll barrier and exit before the next one, thus travelling on the toll road toll-free. Most open toll roads have ramp tolls or partial access junctions to prevent this practice, known in the U.S. as " shunpiking ". With a closed toll system, vehicles collect a ticket when entering

3432-523: The maintenance and improvement of most of the main roads in England and Wales, which were used to distribute agricultural and industrial goods economically. The tolls were a source of revenue for road building and maintenance, paid for by road users and not from general taxation. The turnpike trusts were gradually abolished from the 1870s. Most trusts improved existing roads, but some new roads, usually only short stretches, were also built. Thomas Telford 's Holyhead road followed Watling Street from London but

3510-542: The majority of the EU member states. In the United States, prior to the introduction of the Interstate Highway System and the large federal grants supplied to states to build it, many states constructed their first freeways by floating bonds backed by toll revenues. The first major fully grade separated toll road was the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1940. This was followed up by other toll roads, such as

3588-461: The manager of his device. In Italy, this occurs through the Autostrade per l'Italia interchange system. The Autostrada A36 , Autostrada A59 and Autostrada A60 are exclusively free-flow. On these motorways, those who do not have the electronic toll device on board must proceed with the payment by subsequently communicating the data to the motorway manager (by telephone, online or by going to

3666-409: The median of the road). Some toll roads use a combination of the three systems. On an open toll system, all vehicles stop at various locations along the highway to pay a toll. (This is different from "open road tolling", where no vehicles stop to pay a toll.) While this may save money from the lack of need to construct toll booths at every exit, it can cause traffic congestion while traffic queues at

3744-473: The most heavily used roads were repaired with money raised from tolls by pavage grants. Widespread toll roads sometimes restricted traffic so much, by their high tolls, that they interfered with trade and cheap transportation needed to alleviate local famines or shortages. Tolls were used in the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries. After significant road construction undertaken by

3822-423: The motorways subject to toll payment must only proceed at a maximum speed of 30 kilometres per hour (20 mph) without the need to stop. The amount is directly proportional to the distance travelled by the vehicle, the coefficient of its class and a variable coefficient from motorway to motorway, called the kilometre rate. Unlike the closed motorway system, in the open system, the road user does not pay based on

3900-549: The need for better roads than the few and poorly-maintained tracks then available. Turnpike trusts were set up by individual Acts of Parliament , with powers to collect road tolls to repay loans for building, improving, and maintaining the principal roads in Britain . At their peak, in the 1830s, over 1,000 trusts administered around 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of turnpike road in England and Wales, taking tolls at almost 8,000 toll-gates. The trusts were ultimately responsible for

3978-409: The need for complete stops to pay tolls at these locations. By designing a toll gate specifically for electronic collection, it is possible to carry out open-road tolling, where the customer does not need to slow at all when passing through the toll gate. The U.S. state of Texas is using a system that has no toll booths. Drivers without a TollTag have their license plate photographed automatically and

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4056-643: The northeastern United States, the InterCounty Connector ( Maryland Route 200 ) was partially opened to traffic in February 2011, and the final segment was completed in November 2014. The first section of another all-electronic toll road, the Triangle Expressway , opened at the beginning of 2012 in North Carolina. Some toll roads are managed under such systems as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system. Private companies build

4134-399: The offices dedicated to payment). The closed motorway system is applied to most Italian motorways. It requires the driver of the vehicle to collect a special ticket at the entrance to the motorway and pay the amount due upon exit. If equipped with an electronic toll system the two procedures are completely automatic and the driver on the detection lanes located at the entrances and exits from

4212-507: The original interstate system funding. Houston's outer beltway of interconnected toll roads began in 1983, and many states followed over the last two decades of the 20th century adding new toll roads, including the tollway system around Orlando, Florida , Colorado's E-470 , and Georgia State Route 400 . London, in an effort to reduce traffic within the city, instituted the London congestion charge in 2003, effectively making all roads within

4290-657: The other 50%. Transurban had the pre-emptive right to acquire MIG's share, but declined in January 2009 due to its high price. The sale to WSRG proceeded, and QIC and MIG each had 25% ownership of Westlink. MIG was later restructured into Intoll and then acquired by the CPP Investment Board in December 2010. Since then, the Westlink M7 is owned by Transurban (50%), QIC (25%) and CPP (25%). In 2015, Westlink

4368-563: The preferred alignment of the Western Sydney Orbital two years later in 1994. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western Sydney had become the third-biggest producer of Australia's GDP, after the Sydney CBD and Melbourne . The growth of industrial and residential areas brought about a massive increase in traffic on its local roads. This led to the planning of the Western Sydney Orbital, which, among its original purposes,

4446-476: The preserved Castlereagh Freeway corridor through Quakers Hill and Kings Langley up to the interchange with Old Windsor Road to Norwest Business Park and continues southeast to reconcile with the existing M2 Hills Motorway in Baulkham Hills . It is 4 lanes (2 lanes each way) for its entire length. The M7 cycleway runs parallel to Westlink M7. The Light Horse Interchange is the junction of

4524-577: The public through the media, the RTA call centre and variable message signs along routes. In 1999 the NSW Transport Management Centre (TMC) established Traffic Commander and Traffic Emergency Patrol (TEP) services throughout the Greater Urban Area of Sydney to provide 24-hour 365-day-a-year coverage to "Manage the traffic arrangements around an incident scene and return the road to normal operating conditions with

4602-576: The registered owner will receive a monthly bill, at a higher rate than those vehicles with TollTags. A similar variation of automatic collection is the Toll Roads in Orange County, CA, US, wherein all entry or collection points are equipped with high-speed cameras which read license plates and users will have 7 calendar days to pay online using their plate number or else set up an account for automatic debits. The first all-electronic toll road in

4680-647: The roads and are given a limited franchise. Ownership is transferred to the government when the franchise expires. This type of arrangement is prevalent in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines . The BOT system is a fairly new concept that is becoming more popular in the United States, with California , Delaware , Florida , Illinois , Indiana , Mississippi , Texas , and Virginia already building and operating toll roads under this scheme. Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , New Jersey , and Tennessee are also considering

4758-428: The system. Some of these such as the Connecticut Turnpike and the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike later removed their tolls when the initial bonds were paid off. Many states, however, have maintained the tolling of these roads as a consistent source of revenue. As the Interstate Highway System approached completion during the 1980s, states began constructing toll roads again to provide new freeways which were not part of

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4836-515: The toll, and the cost of the toll booth operators—up to about one-third of revenue in some cases. Automated toll-paying systems help minimise both of these. Others object to paying "twice" for the same road, namely in fuel taxes and in tolls. In addition to toll roads, toll bridges and toll tunnels are also used by public authorities to generate funds to repay the cost of building the structures. Some tolls are set aside to pay for future maintenance or enhancement of infrastructure, or are applied as

4914-466: The tolls. The toll is calculated by the distance travelled on the toll road or the specific exit chosen. In the United States, for instance, the Kansas Turnpike , Ohio Turnpike , New Jersey Turnpike , most of the Indiana Toll Road , New York State Thruway , and Florida's Turnpike currently implement closed systems. The Union Toll Plaza on the Garden State Parkway was the first ever to use an automated toll collection machine. A plaque commemorating

4992-481: The tollway still retains this declaration. The motorway was opened to traffic on 16 December 2005, eight months ahead of schedule. WSO (commonly known as Westlink) operate the motorway with maintenance subcontracted to Westlink Services and tolling to ROAM. With its opening, Metroad 7 between Liverpool and Beecroft was transferred from Cumberland Highway to Westlink M7. Westlink M7 was the first Sydney motorway to be marked with an alphanumeric shield (M7) rather than

5070-425: The user deposits money in a machine which opens the gate once the correct toll has been paid. To cut costs and minimise time delay, many tolls are collected with electronic toll collection equipment which automatically communicates with a toll payer's transponder or uses automatic number-plate recognition to charge drivers by debiting their accounts. Criticisms of toll roads include the time taken to stop and pay

5148-409: The utmost urgency." Traffic commanders took command of traffic management arrangements at an incident (such as a motor vehicle collision) and liaise with other response agencies such as the police, and assist in clearing the road and minimising the effects and disruption to traffic. Traffic Emergency Patrols vans patrolled major road routes and respond to unplanned incidents with the aim of returning

5226-413: The way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, the Roads & Traffic Authority (later Transport for NSW ) declared the Western Sydney Orbital as Tollway 6009, from its interchange with M2 Hills Motorway in Seven Hills to the interchange with the M5 South-West Motorway in Prestons , on 7 January 2003, nearly two years before it had officially opened. Now known as Westlink M7,

5304-488: The western suburbs. In the late 1980s, with the intended construction of a BHP steel mill in Rooty Hill, Blacktown City Council required BHP to construct an arterial route that allowed industrial traffic to bypass the Rooty Hill CBD and the newly opened Davis Overpass. A 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) two-lane road named Phillip Parkway was constructed between Woodstock Avenue and Eastern Road and opened to traffic in July 1992. The alignment of Phillip Parkway would eventually be

5382-562: Was a consortium owned by Transurban (40%), Macquarie Investment Group (MIG) (40%), Leighton (10%) and Abigroup (10%). The consortium was awarded the bid to develop Westlink M7 in October 2002, and entered into a 34-year concession period on 14 February 2003. Leighton and Abigroup were the contractors for the construction of M7. When the M7 opened in December 2005, Transurban and MIG purchased an additional 5% equity interest in Westlink M7 from Leighton and Abigroup. Subsequently, in 2006-2007, Abigroup sold its stake to Transurban and MIG, with

5460-533: Was also responsible for many ferries and bridges in New South Wales. On 16 January 1989, the Department of Main Roads, Department of Motor Transport, and the Traffic Authority were amalgamated to form the Roads & Traffic Authority under the Transport Administration Act, No. 109, 1988 (NSW). On 1 November 2011, the Roads & Traffic Authority merged with NSW Maritime to become Roads & Maritime Services (RMS). Planning and co-ordination functions were transferred to Transport for NSW . On 1 December 2019

5538-457: Was built to provide a robust transport link between Britain and Ireland and had a toll house every few miles. In the 20th century, road tolls were introduced in Europe to finance the construction of motorway networks and specific transport infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels. Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"),

5616-809: Was exceptional in creating a largely new route beyond Shrewsbury , and especially beyond Llangollen . Built in the early 19th century, with many toll booths along its length, most of it is now the A5 . In the modern day, one major toll road is the M6 Toll , relieving traffic congestion on the M6 in Birmingham. A few notable bridges and tunnels continue as toll roads including the Dartford Crossing and Mersey Gateway bridge. Some cities in Canada had toll roads in

5694-451: Was implemented on the WHSD. The system was designed for automatic calculation of the driving distance of a vehicle equipped with a transponder. The system does not require constructing toll plazas at each entrance to or exit from the highway. Transponders mounted on vehicles are read by signal receivers installed at the entrance and exit ramps. In Italy the only toll roads are the autostrade (Italian for motorways ). Major exceptions are

5772-416: Was introduced across Italy. Several US states now use mobile tolling platforms to facilitate use of payment via smartphones. Highway 407 in the province of Ontario , Canada, has no toll booths, and instead reads a transponder mounted on the windshields of each vehicle using the road (the rear licence plates of vehicles lacking a transponder are photographed when they enter and exit the highway). This made

5850-535: Was renamed Westlink M7 in July 2003. The motorway was privately funded through an innovative construction contract method known as a “deed” to facilitate the expedition of the tendering phase; several deeds were drawn up based on the contractors proposals. The deed was for the full design, construction, operation and maintenance of the motorway including more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) of continuously reinforced concrete (CRCP) and asphalt roads, upgrading of local roads,

5928-586: Was reorganised under a new umbrella entity, NorthWestern Roads Group (NWR), with no changes in ownership. The NWR Group would also deliver and now tolls and operates the NorthConnex , opened in October 2020. The 34-year concession to construct, operate and toll the M7 was originally due to expire on 14 February 2037. However, the concession was extended as part of the NorthConnex agreement between NWR and

6006-563: Was responsible for the registration of vehicles (including the issuing of registration plates ) and the issuing of drivers licences in New South Wales , including testing and administering of licences. Additionally, the RTA produced photo cards for identification of non-drivers and issued photographic firearms licences for the New South Wales Police Firearms Registry, security licences for

6084-484: Was to serve the stillborn second international airport at Badgerys Creek . In January 2001 the federal government made a commitment to progressively contribute A$ 356 million to the Western Sydney Orbital project, with the remaining A$ 1.5 billion required for the design and construction provided by the private sector. Planning approval was given by the NSW Minister for Planning in February 2002. The project

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