A 95-tonne piece of excavation equipment smashed through a layer of rock under Sydney’s north shore on Monday, connecting a $7 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. A disruptive $2 billion upgrade to the freeway was necessitated by the first road harbour crossing in almost 30 years.
The breakthrough moment from both sides. Credit:
The twin three-lane tunnels under the harbour will provide motorists with a bypass to the western side of the Sydney CBD, linking the Warringah Freeway on the north shore to the Rozelle interchange and the rest of the WestConnex toll road in the inner west.
Premier Chris Minns confirmed that the 6.5-kilometre Western Harbour Tunnel would be tolled but declined to say what it would cost motorists, citing negotiations between the government and private toll road operators over a shake-up of Sydney’s motorway charges.
“It’s always been the plan that [tolling of the Western Harbour Tunnel] was the case. It’s going to have to be a user-pays component, but it’s got to be reasonable,” he said.
Minns said the new harbour motorway crossing was a city-defining project that, once complete, will cut travel times for hundreds of thousands of motorists.
“One of the most challenging parts of Sydney is the harbour. And that kind of logistical challenge – that geographic challenge – has been very difficult for those that want to grow Sydney in a more efficient way,” he said.
Premier Chris Minns and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison chat to construction workers on Monday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
So far, excavation equipment has churned through about one million tonnes of rock under the north shore as they burrow south towards Waverton as part of the project’s second stage, passing under the Pacific Highway and within tens of metres of tunnels for the M1 metro rail line.
Two-thirds of the mega-project has been completed, although one of the most challenging parts – tunnelling under the harbour – will not start until next year.
The former Coalition government had decided to dig deeper tunnels for the main section of the motorway between Birchgrove and Waverton, ditching earlier plans to lay large tubes in a trench on the harbour floor.
Tunnelling for the Western Harbour Tunnel is now more than two-thirds complete as excavation equipment burrows south past metro rail tunnels towards Waverton.
For motorists, the upgrade of the Warringah Freeway has been disruptive since work started in mid-2021. While more than 70 per cent of that work has now been carried out, the upgrade will not be completed until late next year.
Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the freeway was one of the busiest and most complex road networks in the country, likening the upgrade to 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 said.
“The delivery of this tunnel portal [for the Western Harbour Tunnel] right in the middle of one of Australia’s busiest roads is an incredible achievement.”
Including development and enabling works, the total cost of the Western Harbour Tunnel is estimated at almost $7.4 billion.
Once completed, the project will relieve pressure on the Harbour Bridge and existing motorway tunnel, as well as the Western Distributor and Anzac Bridge.
The Western Harbour Tunnel will connect the north and south between Waverton and Birchgrove.Credit: NSW government
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