By Josefine Ganko, Cindy Yin and Riley Walter
One of Sydney’s busiest roads will be closed for almost 24 hours after a crane crashed and overturned inside the M5 East tunnel, as repairs initially hoped to be completed by the afternoon commute blew out.
Eastbound lanes were expected to be opened by peak hour on Tuesday afternoon, but will now remain closed until Wednesday morning as damage to the tunnel’s wall and sprinkler system is repaired.
The large crane rolled over in the eastbound M5 tunnel near Bexley North around 11.30am on Tuesday, with images from underground showing extensive damage to both the vehicle and the tunnel wall, and debris strewn across the road.
Authorities initially closed the entire four-kilometre tunnel in both directions because the crash disabled the tunnel’s deluge sprinkler system, but later reopened all westbound lanes.
Temporary repairs have been made to damaged parts of the road, and more significant repairs are expected to be completed by peak hour on Wednesday morning.
Diversions are in place, with motorists urged to use King Georges Road, Stoney Creek Road, Forest Road, Wickham Street, West Botany Street or Marsh Street to access the M5. The M8 remains open as an alternative route.
Extra traffic had built up along detour routes on Tuesday evening, but was not causing major delays, authorities said.
The stretch of tunnel runs from Bexley North to Arncliffe, with eastbound lanes closed from Bexley Road and city bound on-ramp from Kingsgrove Road for several hours.
Transport for NSW earlier advised motorists to avoid the area and use detours, as it warned of a protracted effort in removing the crane from the tunnel.
The suggested D5 detour takes King Georges Road, Stoney Creek Road, Forest Road, Wickham Street, West Botany Street, Marsh Street to the M5 motorway, avoiding the tunnel.
Transport for NSW executive director of operations management, Craig Moran, said repairs would be completed before Wednesday’s morning’s peak hour traffic.
“They’ll work very diligently tonight,” Moran said.
“They’ll make sure that the road’s fully reopened prior to the peak tomorrow morning.”
The cause of the crash would be the subject of a NSW Police investigation, Moran said.
“We don’t fully understand the circumstances of how the crash has occurred,” Moran said.
“The priority for us has been to make sure that we can recover that vehicle.”
The driver of the crane was uninjured in the crash, Moran said.
NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry said it was “going to take a while” to clean up the scene because of the complex nature of the task.
“Usually you’d lift up the crane and move it out of the way, but you can’t do that inside a tunnel.”
Dewberry said the crash had taken out the deluge sprinkler system, which is “critical to the safety of motorists in the case of fire inside the tunnel”.
NSW Fire and Rescue had prepared to place fire trucks at either end of the tunnel if the system could not be restored promptly.
Crews were also working to clean up the spill of hydraulic oils, which present a hazard to both motorists and the environment.
“The scene is currently contained, and NSW Fire and Rescue are bringing in a vacuum truck to finish the job,” Dewberry said.
Emergency services and traffic crews are on site, and the male driver in his 20s has been transported to St George Hospital in a stable condition.
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