The Sydney Morning Herald reports, “A 95-tonne piece of excavation equipment smashed through a layer of rock under Sydney’s north shore [today], connecting a $7 billion [USD 4.5 billion] motorway tunnel under Sydney Harbour to one of Australia’s busiest motorways. The joining of the Western Harbour Tunnel to the Warringah Freeway at Cammeray marks a major milestone in the years-long megaproject.” With today’s Stage 2 tunneling breakthrough, the project is about two-thirds complete, however, the most the most challenging phase — tunneling under Sydney Harbor — lies ahead. An AUD 2 billion (USD 1.25 billion) companion project is upgrading the Warringah Freeway. (TRN inserted a link in quoted text.)
The tunnel and freeway projects are the creating the first new harbor crossing roadway in almost 30 years. They are designed to provide a western bypass around Sydney’s central business district and thereby relieve congestion on other facilities, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel. The state government intends to toll the new tunnel when it opens in 2028, although it won’t set rates until ongoing negotiations regarding Sydney tolling reform are resolved.
A New South Wales government news release discusses the complexity of the tunnel and freeway construction. Roads minister Jenny Aitchison notes that the Warringah Freeway work “has been likened to doing open heart surgery while trying to run a marathon. It requires new lanes, bridges, overpasses and ramps to be built in and around live traffic while also minimising impacts.” She adds, “The delivery of this tunnel portal right in the middle of one of Australia’s busiest roads is an incredible achievement and we applaud the hard work of everyone working on these projects.”
9News also covers this story.