The metro rail line to Sydney's north-west is one step closer to completion with the unveiling of a "mini-Anzac Bridge" over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian inspected the 270-metre long bridge on Monday, describing it as a "critical milestone" in the delivery of the $8.3 billion railway, Australia's biggest public transport project.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said trains would run every four minutes in each direction during peak times, "bringing reliable metro rail to this region ??? for the first time".
The deck of the bridge is made from 88 concrete precast segments, each weighing between 70 and 140 tonnes.
In coming months, twin 45-metre towers and steel cables will be installed as part of the cable-stayed bridge, which is inspired by the Anzac Bridge, the NSW government says.
However, the multibillion-dollar Sydney Metro Northwest, which is scheduled to open in early 2019, has been plagued by construction problems and cost overruns.
Fairfax Media revealed in 2015 the Italian consortium Salini-Impregilo building the four-kilometre elevated Skytrain section of the rail link had claimed a $50 million increase in costs, following design disputes and the discovery of asbestos at a construction site.
Cracks have been found in the precast concrete used for the elevated track that form the Skytrain and viaduct parts of the rail line running from Bella Vista to Cudgegong Road, past Rouse Hill.
The Italian contractors have torn down or partially replaced three of the concrete spans damaged by cracking.
However, another span that buckled raised concerns about the design of the steel cables running through the spans.
An investigation found the buckling was caused by a number of failings in the construction process.
"We regard this as a very significant incident and we've taken it very seriously and we've taken some months to look through this," the project director of Sydney Metro NorthWest, Rodd Staples, said last year.
Roads and Maritime Services, the state's roads agency, became so concerned about the threat to public safety posed by the project that its managers resisted giving approval for construction of the viaduct over roads, Fairfax Media reported in January.
