A new connection road would be built at Balgowlah linking between Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, the Beaches Link tunnel entrance and exit, and Sydney Road. The road would divide the former Balgowlah Golf Club grounds.[1] The Beaches Link would follow abandoned extensions of the Warringah Freeway in the 1960s and 1970s and bypasses the heavily congested Spit Bridge.
History
The project was first announced in December 2020 by the Berejiklian government as a single project with the Western Harbour Tunnel.[2] In June 2022, the Perrottet government announced that the project would be shelved indefinitely, due to budgetary constraints and labour shortages.[3] Following a change of government, the project was cancelled by the Minns government in September 2023.[4] However, Transport for NSW will retain ownership of acquired properties and the construction of stub tunnels at the Western Harbour Tunnel portals in Cammeray reserve a future connection to Beaches Link, should it be built by a future government.[5]
In 2026, the release of a major review of road corridors (the Northern Beaches Network Review[6]) prompted independent state MP for WakehurstMichael Regan to call for the Beaches Link motorway tunnel to be revived.[7]
Minister for roads Jenny Aitchison did not rule out the project. She stated the government was "focused on improving road traffic flows and bus services across the northern beaches" and was considering bus priority lanes and intersection upgrades.[7]
