Clover Moore pitches ‘interim solution’ to Cahill Expressway dilemma

The Cahill Expressway would be removed in two stages – first the road,then the railway in another 20 or 30 years – under a new plan pitched by the City of Sydney,as the state government considers turning the maligned freeway into a pedestrian “high line”.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore will use theHerald’s Infrastructure Summit on Wednesday to call on the government to scrap the high line idea and commit to tearing down the expressway as soon as the Western Harbour Tunnel is completed.

Stage one:the Cahill Expressway would be removed and the railway station kept until the line can be re-routed.

Stage one:the Cahill Expressway would be removed and the railway station kept until the line can be re-routed.Bates Smart/ supplied

In what she called a compromise “interim solution”,Moore said the roadway could be removed,but the railway left in place until the City Circle line can be rerouted underground.

“It’s a massive improvement that connects people to Country and Sydney to the world,” she said. “It will be suitable for local,national and international celebrations and boost Sydney’s reputation as a key global destination.

“I would argue that this is a much better solution than a high line which could stifle the removal of the Cahill Expressway and postpone our vision for decades more.”

As part of her campaign,Moore presented fresh artist impressions of a future Circular Quay to Treasurer Matt Kean and Cities Minister Rob Stokes in separate meetings in May.

“[Building the high line] is decorating an eyesore without solving the fundamental problem.”

Philip Vivian,Bates Smart director

The images,by architectural firm Bates Smart,show Circular Quay with the roadway removed and then,later,the railway station too. The space occupied by the freeway and station would be replaced by a public square leading straight to the waterfront,with one ferry wharf removed.

Bates Smart director Philip Vivian acknowledged removing the freeway would be more expensive and time-consuming than the high line proposal,but said it was worth the money to “get it right now,so that we are not having the same conversation in 50 years’ time”.

Vivian said the high line was “short-term thinking” and would not be enough to seriously change the way Circular Quay was perceived by domestic and international visitors.

“Simply greening the Cahill Expressway,while making it more pleasant when viewed from expensive office towers,does nothing to improve the congested public domain around Circular Quay,” he said.

“It is decorating an eyesore without solving the fundamental problem. If we are spending public money to update Circular Quay,let’s maximise the benefits for Sydney and the public.”

In stage two,a ferry wharf would be removed along with the station,and replaced with a public square.

In stage two,a ferry wharf would be removed along with the station,and replaced with a public square.Bates Smart

The future of Circular Quay is being debated at the highest levels of the state government before the June budget,which is expected to contain an investment decision on the long-awaited quay renewal project.

Stokes,who was contacted for comment on Monday,previously urged his colleagues to “be bold” and commit to a major revamp of the precinct,which he described as “awful” in its current state.

However,he noted the government was already reviewing major infrastructure projects in light of budget constraints and labour shortages. “We can’t do everything,” he told theHerald in April.

Stokes said it would be incredibly expensive to move the rail line underground.

“I think everyone would agree that the Cahill Expressway should never have been built the way it was,but now it’s there,those design constraints actually create design opportunities,” he said.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has been an enthusiast for a New York-style high line,and enacted a trial of sorts by closing the road to cars in January for the six-day musical festival ELEVATE.

But Moore and others believe turning the expressway into a permanent high line would only make it more difficult for a future government to tear down the structure.

Moore recently toured the site with Paul Keating,a long-term champion of removing the Cahill Expressway who as prime minister in 1994 offered to pay the NSW government to demolish it.

It is widely agreed the Cahill will remain open to cars until the Western Harbour Tunnel is built to link the Warringah Freeway to the Rozelle interchange. Construction is due to begin this year and finish in 2027.

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Michael Koziol is Sydney Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald,based in our Sydney newsroom. He was previously deputy editor of The Sun-Herald and a federal political reporter in Canberra.

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