The New South Wales (NSW) government awarded the Lane Cove road tunnel contract, in Sydney, Australia, to the Lane Cove Tunnel Consortium, comprising Thiess, Transfield Holdings, John Holland and ABN Amro, last month.
It beat a rival bid by Lane Cove Motorway, sponsored by Leighton Contractors and Deutsche Bank. A combination of experience and a competitive price gave the Lane Cove Tunnel Consortium the winning edge.
The US$750M project includes the construction of a 3.4km long twin-tube tunnel, connecting the Gore Hill Freeway with the M2 in northern Sydney – completing the city’s orbital network. Journey times between the city and Sydney’s northwest should be cut by 15 minutes.
To avoid future congestion, each tube will contain three lanes. They will run between 18m and 50m underground and follow the alignment of Epping Road in order to minimise property impacts.
Settlement along most of the alignment should not be a problem because most of the tunnel will be constructed through sandstone. However, care will be taken at the eastern end where it will run through weathered shale and residual soils.
Coffey International will carry out geotechnical investigation and analysis.
The Lane Cove Tunnel Consortium will finance the tunnel’s construction and recoup its costs over a 33-year operating period via tolls; cars will pay US$1.71, while trucks will pay US$3.42. The Roads and Traffic Authority will take a slice of revenue if patronage is unusually high.
Construction is scheduled to start in the first half of 2004, to be completed by the first half of 2007.
