The Herald asked a spokesman for Roads Minister Melinda Pavey if there had been any change to the projects since May. A spokesman for Roads and Maritime Services said the government had made a commitment"to return to the community with further information"on the road projects"in the middle of this year".

"There was no public update issued by the government in May and we are unable to make any further comment,"the spokesman said.

The May updates do not disclose the cost of the motorway projects. TheHerald has previously reported the two roads carry an estimated $14 billion price tag.

The state budget earmarked $560 million to be spent on the road projects over the next four years.

Labor leader Luke Foley is opposed to the two projects.

The update for the six-kilometre Western Harbour Tunnel says the road will create a bypass of Sydney’s central business district,and take pressure off the Harbour Bridge,Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor.

TheHerald has previously reported that public transport alternatives to the motorway projects were not considered at an early stage.

However the update says the tunnel"creates the potential to introduce direct express bus access between the inner west and lower north shore". For instance,it canvasses direct bus routes from North Sydney and to the University of Sydney and RPA,bypassing the CBD.

The Beaches Link project will provide a new route from the Northern Beaches to the CBD and the western suburbs,bypassing the Spit and Neutral Bay. The documents predict a 40 per cent drop in traffic on the Spit Bridge.

But the documents also show the government may have had to reduce its estimates of the time motorists would save when using these roads.

Western Harbour Tunnel

Beaches Link