By rosebell
Following that a roadheader broke through to link the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade, Sydney is a step closer to its first new road harbour crossing in almost three decades.
In mid-2021 when work commenced on the Warringah Freeway Upgrade, the two projects were joined for the first time, whereas the upgrade is going to create the space on one of Australia’s busiest roads for the portal for the 6.5km-long Western Harbour Tunnel.
The responsibility of implementing Western Harbour Tunnel Stage 2 is up to Acciona and the roadheaders have so far cut through almost 1 million tonnes of rock, and excavation on Stage 1 was late last year completed by the John Holland and CPB (JHCPB) joint venture’s roadheader .
While the time of delivering two TBMs to the Western Harbour Tunnel will be later this year, they are due to dig twin, three-lane tunnels beneath Sydney Harbour, connecting tunnels at Birchgrove with those at Waverton.
Work on the Warringah Freeway Upgrade is now more than 70% complete and project completion is expected in late 2026.
In addition to helping drivers bypass the CBD, the Western Harbour Tunnel will connect the Warringah Freeway to the WestConnex M4 and M8 at Rozelle Interchange, whereas it is designed to ease congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Harbour Tunnel, Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor. It is due to open to traffic in 2028.
According to New South Wales premier Chris Minns: “Today’s breakthrough represented light at this end of Western Harbour Tunnel – literally. The breakthrough represents a significant moment for these two complex major projects and is the first time the twin mainline tunnels of the Western Harbour Tunnel have joined with Warringah Freeway. The Warringah Freeway Upgrade and Western Harbour Tunnel will transform the way people move across our city.”
Roads minister Jenny Aitchison acknowledged everyone working on the two projects.
“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,” she said.
