Last month, the $17 billion WestConnex toll road and tunnel in Sydney was dubbed the “biggest misuse of public funds for corporate gain in history” by transport analyst Christopher Standen from the University of Sydney.
This hideously expensive project will see existing free public roads like the state-owned M4 (that has already been paid off) being tolled, with tolls to rise by 4% a year until 2040, before tolls then increase by the rate of inflation between 2040 and 2060. The sale to Transurban also includes the right to toll the M5 West motorway, which is not part of WestConnex, from 2026.
