Australian construction firm John Holland has completed construction of a A$156m ($109m) road underpass at Masco that has been designed to improve access to Sydney Airport and Port Botany.

The contract for the airport east project includes construction of underpass was awarded to John Holland in 2016.

The underpass road was opened for motorists on 29 June. It is estimated that nearly, 25,000 vehicles will use the underpass every day.

Australian Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said that underpass is part of a series of Airport East improvements. Others involved in the series include the upgrade of ill Pond Road intersections, and the widening of parts of Joyce Drive and General Holmes Drive to three lanes in each direction.

As part of the project, the railway level crossing at General Holmes Drive was replaced.

Tudge added: “Traffic will now be able to smoothly travel between Botany Road and General Holmes Drive by passing through a new underpass under the rail line at Wentworth Avenue.”

NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said this is a major milestone for the project. It included complex work to build the project under the flight path restrictions and decrease traffic and rail freight disruptions.

To lower the intersection by nearly 2m, the work to rebuild the intersection of Botany Road and Wentworth Avenue was carried out across 56 consecutive hours during one weekend, Constance said.

Constance added: “Crews shifted 1,000t of concrete, 4,500t of sand, 1,800t of stabilised base material, more than a 1,000t of asphalt and 410t of drainage stone.”

The NSW road minister said a new freight rail bridge will also be constructed that will duplicate tracks across the extended section of Wentworth Avenue.

At present, work is under progress to create a new shared path to connect to the existing cycleway on Wentworth Avenue at Todd Reserve.

Remaining work for the project is scheduled to be completed in the upcoming months. Final works will focus on building medians, drainage, kerbs and footpaths, paving, line marking, landscaping, and installing signage.