Westlink M7 facts for kids

The Westlink M7 Motorway or Westlink M7 is a big road in Sydney, Australia. It's part of a larger system of roads that go around Sydney, called the Sydney Orbital Network. This motorway has a toll, which means you pay to drive on it. It's owned and run by a company called NorthWestern Roads Group (NWR). The Westlink M7 connects three other important motorways: the M5 South Western Motorway, the M4 Western Motorway, and the M2 Hills Motorway. It opened on 16 December 2005.

Building the M7 Motorway

Western Sydney has been growing very quickly. Because of this growth, the local roads became very busy with lots of cars and trucks. People needed a better way to travel across Western Sydney. So, plans were made for a new motorway called the Western Sydney Orbital.

In 2001, the Australian government promised to help pay for the M7 project. Most of the money for building the road came from private companies. The motorway was built using a special contract that helped speed up the process. This contract covered everything: designing the road, building it, running it, and keeping it in good condition.

The M7 Motorway is more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) long. When it opened, it was the longest toll road in the world where you didn't have to stop at toll booths to pay. Instead, it used electronic payments. The project also included building over 90 bridges and a very large network of shared paths for walking and cycling.

The motorway opened in 2005. The company WSO (also known as Westlink) operates the motorway. When the M7 opened, the road number Metroad 7 was moved from another highway to the Westlink M7. It was also the first motorway in Sydney to use a new type of road sign with an alphanumeric shield (like M7) instead of the older hexagonal Metroad shield.

Where the M7 Goes

The M7 starts at an interchange (a big road junction) called the Roden Cutler Interchange. This is where it connects with the M31 Hume Motorway and the M5 South Western Motorway in a place called Prestons.

From there, the M7 goes west of Liverpool. It then runs north, next to a road called Wallgrove Road, until it reaches the Great Western Highway and the Light Horse Interchange.

After the Light Horse Interchange, the M7 continues north through Minchinbury. It then turns east through Quakers Hill and Kings Langley. Finally, it connects with the M2 Hills Motorway in Baulkham Hills. The M7 has four lanes for its entire length, with two lanes going in each direction.

Light Horse Interchange

The Light Horse Interchange is a very large road junction where the M4 and M7 motorways meet. It's the biggest interchange of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It was named to honor the Australian Light Horse, a famous group of soldiers from World War One. It's also the only one of its kind in Australia.

How Tolls Work

The Westlink M7 was built as a fully tolled motorway, which means you pay to use it. It uses electronic payment, so there are no toll booths to stop at. You need an electronic tag or account to pay the toll.

There was a short period when the motorway was free to use, but tolls started on 15 January 2006. The toll is charged per kilometre you travel, but there's a maximum amount you'll pay, even if you drive the whole length. For example, in 2015, the toll was about 38.31 cents for each kilometre, but it was capped at $7.66. The toll prices change a little bit every few months.

Images for kids

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  Light Horse Interchange