NSW Police is advising motorists and residents of major road closures in Sydney’s CBD and Pyrmont ahead of the 29th annual Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon tomorrow.
The main race will commence at 6.45am (Sunday 15 May 2022), on Macquarie Street near Martin Place and take runners through many of Sydney’s major landmarks. The elite wheelchair race of 2.5km starts at 7.05am on Prince Albert Road.
The course covers 21.1km and runs via Macquarie Street, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Millers Point and the Western Distributor to Pyrmont, then returns via the Western Distributor, Sussex St, Hickson Rd, Observatory Hill, the Cahill Expressway overpass, Macquarie St, Royal Botanic Gardens, finishing on Park Street between at Hyde Park North and Hyde Park South by 11am.
A high-visibility police operation will be in place for the event to ensure the safety of participants and spectators, with a focus on minimising the impact of the event on the wider community.
Operation SMH Half Marathon 2022 Commander, Superintendent Sam Crisafulli, said police have been working tirelessly with event organisers to ensure the return of the family-friendly event is safe and secure for everybody involved.
“Police will be patrolling the race route in the lead up and during the event to ensure the safety of all participants, spectators and volunteers,” Supt Crisafulli said.
“We strongly encourage the community to use public transport to and from the city, as major road closures will be in place before, and for the duration of the race.
“Roads along the race route in the vicinity of Hyde Park will begin to close from 2am, while the Cahill Expressway Overpass and sections of the Western Distributor will be closed from 4am.
“Some roads through the Sydney CBD, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Millers Point and Pyrmont will also be closed from 4am.
“Anyone who cannot avoid a trip to the city should expect delays, allow for extra travel time and carefully follow detour signs,” Supt Crisafulli said.
All major roads will progressively start to reopen at 11am, with all closures expected to be lifted by 1pm.
While roads are closed, buses will be diverted and using temporary stops. Services may experience delays so allow extra travel time or consider catching a City Circle train instead.
Light Rail services will terminate at Town Hall between 5am and 9am and will not operate between Town Hall and Circular Quay before 9am.
The closest train stations to the start line are St James, Martin Place and Town Hall, with services to operate on a Sunday timetable. For information on transport to the event and to plan your trip, visit www.transportnsw.info
Special-event clearways will be in place between 1.30am and 12.30pm on roads along and surrounding the race route, so check signs before parking as vehicles parked in these clearways will be towed and fines apply.
For detailed information about road closures and clearways, including maps and detour routes, visit www.livetraffic.com.
For more information the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, visit https://smhhalfmarathon.com.au/.
