Sydney's Western Harbour Tunnel to be a tag‍-‍free toll road

The NSW Government has announced that Sydney’s Western Harbour Tunnel will be Australia’s first tag-free toll road when it opens to traffic in late 2028.

Not only is the Western Harbour Tunnel the first new road crossing of Sydney Harbour in over 30 years, it will be installed with a video-based solution that matches registration plates to toll accounts without any need for e-tags.

As well as eliminating the need for e-tags, the state government says the technology wil reduce the costs of tolling infrastructure and complexity, reduce plastic and battery waste, and maintain the same high performance of traditional tolling systems.

Following a competitive tender, the contract for tolling the 6.5 km Western Harbour Tunnel has been awarded to US-based TransCore, part of a global group with over 800 projects in more than 150 cities. The company’s technology is in use in both North America and Europe.

Drivers using the Western Harbour Tunnel will not need to change anything as long as they have an existing toll account linked to their vehicle registration plate and personal details.

“This is a smart solution that will simplify the tolling process and reduce the costs of tag infrastructure,” Minister for Transport John Graham said. “This technology is likely to be adopted on other toll roads and will help us to keep advancing a streamlined and sustainable toll network into the future.”

“The Minns Labor government is building the Western Harbour Tunnel as a public asset and we’re bringing the most advanced tolling technology in the world with it,” Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said. “Revenue collected from the Western Harbour Tunnel toll will be reinvested in our state, not given to private operators.”

Image credit: iStock.com/zetter