Air outside the M5 East tunnel

This M5 East tunnel is a twin, two lane (in both directions) tunnel that links the M5 East motorway at Bexley Road, Earlwood and Marsh Street, Arncliffe.

Sydney's road tunnels are built to strict safety standards. Air quality in the M5 East tunnel is managed by ventilating the tunnel with fresh air. This dilutes the pollutants emitted from vehicles as they travel through the tunnel.

Once the air has travelled along the tunnel it is expelled via a ventilation stack located in Turrella.  This stack contains eight large fans which can blow the tunnel air out of the stack at speeds of more than 100 km/h. A 35 metre high stack ensures tunnel air is well dispersed. This prevents pollutants from accumulating at ground locations around the stack.

Air quality is measured in the tunnel, in the stack and at ground locations around the stack. Outside (referred to as ambient) air quality readings for locations around the stack can be found on the RTA website. You can view the current readings for nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and wind direction on the easy to use interactive map.