Blasting begins to clear way for Coffs Harbour Bypass works
Coffs Harbour will reverberate to the sounds of sirens and explosions for the next year as the gloves come off to build the long awaited highway bypass of the city.
Coffs Harbour
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You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs and so too will the Coffs Harbour Bypass require some smashing.
Explosives will be used to break up hard rock to clear the way for the new $2.2 billion stretch of highway.
The first of the controlled blasts – between Bruxner Park and West Korora roads – was carried out on Thursday.
Fast growing Coffs Harbour is the last remaining town between Hexham and the Queensland border to be bypassed by the new Pacific Motorway.
The bypass is scheduled to open to traffic in 2026, and to be completed in late 2027.
Transport for NSW regional director north Anna Zycki, said parts of the bypass alignment contained rock which cannot be easily excavated using mechanical techniques like hammering.
“Blasting means we can complete this work faster, more safely and efficiently, with less impact to nearby residents,” she said.
“We need to move about two million cubic metres of rock to build the bypass and using blasting to break rock in some locations will be of great assistance.”
Controlled blasting for the cuttings will be carried out between 9am and 5pm weekdays and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, and is expected to take about a year to complete.
Blasting for the tunnels demanded by the Coffs community will start later in the year.
Blasting and handling of explosives is conducted in accordance with applicable NSW legislation. A siren will sound before each blast.
“We use licensed specialists to plan and carry out controlled blasting and monitor vibration and blast noise to ensure we comply with our requirements,” Ms Zycki said.
“After breaking the rock, it is crushed and loaded into large trucks to be used on the project.”
A surface mining machine will also be trialled in some locations.
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