Works starts on NorthConnex in Sydney Friday, 11 September 2015

Work started today on the first tunnel shaft for the NorthConnex road project in Sydney.

The project will involve twin tunnels, each around 9 km long, from the M1 at Wahroonga to the M2 at West Pennant Hills. The tunnels will allow drivers to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights on Pennant Hills Road and, in so doing, give them the opportunity to travel from the north of the city to the south without having to stop at a single set of lights.

A 40 t piling rig drilled the first pile at the northern interchange compound in Wahroonga. Ultimately, the piles will enable a shaft to be created around 12 m wide, 16 m long and 45 m deep, providing access for workers and machinery to start the construction of the tunnels.

NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay and Federal Assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs were on hand, with local politicians and representatives of the consortium building the tunnel, to witness the first pile being dug.

“Since February, workers have been out day and night to get construction to the point where we can now gear up for the real deal - the tunneling,” Minister Gay said.

“When completed the new twin tunnels will be capable of carrying more than 100,000 vehicles each day - or 50,000 in each direction - including removing 5000 trucks from Pennant Hills Road.”

Minister Briggs said an Infrastructure Australia audit report revealed Pennant Hills Road was the most expensive road in the country based on costs of delays caused by congestion.

“With traffic congestion  currently costing Sydney over $6 billion per year, a figure set  to grow to $28 billion a year by 2031 under a do-nothing scenario, we are building teh vital game-changing projects the state needs,” said Minister Briggs.

It is estimated major tunneling work will commence later this year with the project to be completed in 2019.