The Western Harbour Tunnel will be Australia’s first tag-free toll road when it opens to traffic in late 2028.
The first new road crossing of Sydney Harbour in over 30 years will be installed with a pioneering video-based solution that matches licence plates to toll accounts without any need for the familiar “beep” of the e-tag.
This technology will eliminate the need for e-tags, reduce the costs of tolling infrastructure and complexity, reduce plastic and battery waste and maintain the same high-performance of traditional tolling systems.
The contract for tolling the 6.5-kilometre 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 proven in North America and Europe. The procurement process attracted significant global interest, with ten companies submitting expressions of interest and three short-listed.
“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 says.
“Revenue collected from the Western Harbour Tunnel toll will be reinvested in our state, not given to private operators.”
Drivers using the Western Harbour Tunnel will not need to change anything as long as they have an existing toll account linked to their licence plate and personal details.
“Drivers won’t need to change a thing. They’ll simply drive through knowing the latest technology is working behind the scenes to make their journey easier, faster and more reliable,” Aitchison says.