Inner Sydney councils, residents and advocacy groups have seized another opportunity to attack the Berejiklian government's $16.8 billion WestConnex toll road, voicing their strident opposition ahead of the latest probe into the controversial development.
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More than 500 submissions for this week's NSW parliamentary inquiry into WestConnex were overwhelmingly negative towards the 33-kilometre motorway, described as the nation's largest infrastructure project.
The road and tunnel network for WestConnex, which includes a large interchange at St Peters in the inner west, is aimed at linking Sydney's existing M4 and M5 motorways and easing congestion.
It has attracted staunch criticism from local residents and community groups, who voiced concerns over the project's size, construction noise, increased traffic and acquisition of homes in the area.
The government continues to forge ahead with construction for the project, which it says in its submission will slash travel times from the south-west to Sydney's CBD once it is completed in its entirety in 2023.
In its 100-page submission to the inquiry, the Inner West Council reiterated its "strong opposition" and "multitude of serious concerns" over the project, while voicing its preference for alternative transport options.
"There has been no accounting of the significant health and other costs imposed on communities, and the equity impacts of tolls ... Council would prefer that no part of the project had been planned or constructed."
The City of Sydney said the development would boost congestion, reduce air quality and swallow green space, arguing it was "a destructive project that should be scrapped".
Clover Moore's council said in its submission there had been "a shocking lack of due diligence and rigour associated with this massive investment of public funds".
Strathfield Council requested the inquiry address a slew of ongoing environmental concerns ranging from noise levels and air quality to overshadowing.
The Public Health Association of Australia was worried the project's cost benefit analysis "failed to adequately consider the wide range of health impacts that such a massive road project brings".
The parliamentary inquiry was announced in June. It will scrutinise the impact of the project, its cost and governance structures.
It will also examine the compulsory acquisition of properties as part of the development, and the relationships between WestConnex and other road projects in Sydney.
Hearings for the inquiry, chaired by Christian Democratic Party leader Fred Nile, begin on October 9.
