By rosebell
On 14 July, the segment production factory for Sydney’s Western Harbour Tunnel was officially opened.
With the aim of being located in place, using two TBMs as they excavate beneath Sydney Harbour, the new, purpose-built facility at Emu Plains is going to precast more than 13,000 concrete segments and almost 1,400 culverts.
The scheduled time duration for operation of this factory for the project is for up to three years, whereas it has the potential to be used by other projects or businesses in future, providing a legacy of the tunnel project. In order to providing 50% of those jobs for women, the facility will create around 700 manufacturing jobs in western Sydney.
Later this year is the planned date for arrival of TBMs to Sydney and they are due to tunnel 1.5km from Birchgrove to Waverton, under the Sydney Harbour seabed, linking the northern and southern ends of the project.
The first TBM passed its Factory Acceptance Test in April this year.
For delivering Sydney’s first road crossing of the harbour in around 30 years, the New South Wales government is investing A$4.2bn (€2.36bn) over four years. While the scheduled date for inaugurating the crossing to traffic is 2028, Acciona was granted the design and build contract for the tunnel in December 2022.
Connecting the Warringah Freeway in north Sydney to the WestConnex M4 and M8 at Rozelle Interchange, this 6.5km tunnel helps drivers bypass the CBD and making it easier, faster and safer to get around Sydney.
Welcoming the factory’s role in increasing the number of women in construction, roads and regional transport minister Jenny Aitchison said: “We are proud of the work to encourage more women into construction through this new facility. The Western Harbour Tunnel is one of 23 government pilot projects trialling increased targets for women in trade and introducing a new target of 7% for non-traditional roles.”
