The three pre-qualified JVs competing for the construction contract on the 2km long, twin-tube Cross City tunnel in Sydney, Australia, have all submitted tenders by the official closing date, 3rd October. A spokesman for the client, the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales, told T&TI that although the date of award was unclear, it would be ‘imminent’ with construction, subject to approval, starting in early 2002.
The three JVs in the running for the US$200M contract are; Cross City Motorway Consortium, Baulderstone-Hornibrook Pty Ltd/Bilfinger+Berger Bauaktiengesellschaft/Deutsche Bank AG; E-Tube, Leighton Motorway Investment Pty Ltd; Sydney City Tunnel Consortium, Transfield Pty Ltd/Multiplex Construction Pty Ltd.
The contract will be awarded as design and build with the winning consortia financing construction and for a short time operating the tunnel.
A source from one of the pre-qualifiers told T&TI that the early 2002 construction start date sounded extremely optimistic, saying, "Even with an imminent award, finalising the financing alone could take months. A construction start towards the fourth quarter (of next year) seems more realistic."
The two lane, twin tube road tunnel will connect William Street at the existing King’s Cross Tunnel with the Western Distributor at Darling Harbour. The tunnels with, as yet, an unspecified diameter will run at depths of some 25m through Sydney’s Hawkesbury Sandstone. Details of the construction method were unavailable although roadheader advances seem likely as used on similar projects through Sydney’s geology.
The tunnel, scheduled to open in 2004, has been proposed to improve travel times east-west across the city, cutting up to 20 minutes and 18 sets of traffic lights from the trip.
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