Premier announced $20b plan to get the state moving including rapid rail and second harbour tunnel NSW Premier Mike Baird released the state infrastructure strategy today. Picture: Tim Hunter. PREMIER Mike Baird has unveiled a $20 billion infrastructure plan just four months out from the NSW election, including a new western Sydney harbour tunnel. Mr Baird and Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the plan will also include a second harbour rail crossing while the new road tunnel will allow up to 50,000 vehicles to bypass Sydney's CBD. The Bankstown line will be upgraded to rapid transport. Picture: Bill Hearne. Mr Baird is proposing to sell 49 per cent of the state's electricity distribution network - commonly referred to as the "poles and wires" - to pay for the infrastructure drive. The government plans to spend $1.1 billion for northern and southern extensions of the WestConnex motorway with construction not expected to start on a western Sydney harbour tunnel until after 2020. "It will provide people travelling form western Sydney via the M4 with a direct link to employment centres in Sydney's north and north west," Mr Gay said in a statement. It would also provide an alternative route to Sydney airport from the north. The western Sydney harbour tunnel is planned to start at Rozelle and run to Gore Hill or the Warringah Freeway. A second harbour tunnel crossing would allow motorists to bypass the inner city and save time. A further $1 billion will also be set aside for Western Sydney rail upgrades, to add more and faster train services on the T1 western line. The plan also includes $600 million for hospital growth in Western Sydney- potentially in Campbeltown and Rouse Hill, and $700 million for education infrastructure. Originally published as Baird announced $20b infrastructure plan