Updated
The New South Wales Government has confirmed about 100 homes will be demolished to make way for the WestConnex motorway to be built in Sydney's inner west.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay says the M4 East tunnel component of the project will require the homes to go around North Strathfield, Ashfield, Concord and Haberfield.
Mr Gay residents are already being informed over the phone and the number of homes to go pales in comparison to projects such as the Warringah Expressway and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
"We understand whilst it's only a small number relative to the size of the project, for the people involved it's not a small issue," he said.
"That's why we want to go about it the best possible way, talk to them about options, talk to them and consult with them and the community on the exact route location.
"Those houses that we are taking, those people, we will be working as hard as we possibly can to minimise any angst that's been caused to them."
Mr Gay says there will be two or three exhaust stacks near the tunnel's entrance and exit, but he insists that lessons have been learnt from the mistakes made in the ventilation system of the M5 tunnel.
Among those facing an uncertain future in Helen Irhazi, who has lived at her Concord home for nearly 40 years.
It is where she and her late husband raised their only son.
This morning she was woken by a phone call confirming her house is one in the way of the WestConnex project.
"That's my home. That's my life. I'm 80-year-old. Where [do] I go?" she said.
"1974 we bought that house and it was ugly and we do everything, with my husband.
"I keep the garden and everything because my husband died six years ago.
"I don't want to sell my house. Look, everything is in the house. We did that with my husband."
Topics: states-and-territories, urban-development-and-planning, concord-2137
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