The federal government included an extra $405 million for the motorway in the Budget in April,taking its funding to $1.45 billion. The remaining $350 million for the M12 will come from the state government.
TheHerald revealed in January that the state's transport agency had been investigating options to either reduce the scope of the project or secure extra funding after putting the cost at $1.38 billion – $130 million above what had then been committed by the two governments.
The state government released an environmental report for the M12 on Wednesday that showed 36 properties will be partially acquired,and five fully,for the motorway. Most of the properties are farms or orchards. Temporary leases of land will also be needed during construction.
The report says about 74 hectares of native vegetation is expected to be dug up for the motorway,including about 1.85 hectares of an existing bio-banking site within Western Sydney Parklands. The state's bio-banking scheme is intended to offset the loss of biodiversity,including threatened species.
In all,the project is set to impact about 90 hectares of land within the 5280-hectare Western Sydney Parklands,including bush land,walking tracks and the Wylde mountain bike trail. The state's roads agency is working with the trust overseeing the parklands on a replacement mountain bike trail.