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Tunnelling on the Rozelle Interchange has reached its halfway point.Credit:Wolter Peters

Mr Constance said the interchange,which will link the $18 billion WestConnex motorway to a new second tunnel beneath Sydney Harbour,remained on time and on budget,with construction likely to be completed in late 2023.

“In terms of the immediate construction disruption,of course we recognise that,but we’re doing our level best to keep the traffic flowing,” Mr Constance said,adding that tunnelling was scheduled to finish in the first half of 2022.

“We are,without doubt,standing on one of the largest road work construction sites in the nation’s history... If you think about it,all roads lead to Rozelle.”

While a link between Anzac Bridge and Iron Cove will be toll-free,motorists will be charged $1.40 to enter the remainder of the complex interchange,with a 50 cent per-kilometre distance-based toll on top of that.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance inspect the Rozelle Interchange site on Thursday.Credit:James Alcock

Mr Constance said the toll would be capped at just over $10 when the motorway opens,but conceded that the price would continue to rise as tolls increase at 4 per cent per year.

“Yes there is a degree of user pays through tolling concessions,but if we didn’t have[them] we wouldn’t be able to build this infrastructure today,” Mr Constance said.

“It’s got to be paid for,we’re going to see it delivered generations ahead of time.”

He said the toll-free connection between Iron Cove Bridge and Anzac Bridge was forecast to reduce traffic along Victoria Road by up to 50 per cent.

Inside the Rozelle Interchange beneath Sydney’s inner west.

Ms Berejiklian thanked the local inner west community for their patience during the disruptive construction period,but said the interchange would provide “the missing link” in Sydney’s road system by connecting the M4 and M5,the City West Link and the future Western Harbour Tunnel.

“We know that during construction is always a difficult time for our communities and we’re deeply grateful for the patience they have shown,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“But,just as other parts of the WestConnex project have demonstrated,once parts of the project are complete,local roads are less congested,there’s more green space and more connectivity.”

The government anticipates 640,000 cubic metres of concrete and 32,000 tonnes of Australian steel will be used in the construction of the project.

Mr Constance said a 10-hectare public parkland would replace the massive construction site at Rozelle when the project was finished.

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