Sydney Harbor Tunnel
| Sydney Harbor Tunnel | |
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| Basic data | |
| Operator: | Sydney Harbor Tunnel Company |
| Start of the street: |
 Cahill ExpresswaySydney Center ( NSW ) ( 33 ° 52 ′ S , 151 ° 13 ′ E ) |
| End of street: |
Warringah Freeway North Sydney ( NSW ) ( 33 ° 51 ′ S , 151 ° 13 ′ E ) |
| Overall length: | 2.8 km |
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States : |
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Map with all coordinates: The Sydney Harbor Tunnel is a double spacious road tunnel under the harbor of Sydney in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales . It connects the Cahill Expressway in Sydney city center with the Warringah Freeway in North Sydney . It runs parallel to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and relieves it of traffic.
course
The Sydney Harbor Tunnel continues the Cahill Expressway (Met-1), which runs in a tunnel on the western edge of the Botanical Garden, to the north, where it turns west to Circular Quay and changes to an elevated position . To the west below the Sydney Opera House it leads under the Port Jackson through to North Sydney . There it joins the Warringah Freeway (Met-1).
The tunnel runs at an angle of approx. 30 ° to the Sydney Harbor Bridge exactly in a north-south direction. It has four lanes. In 2008, 90,000 vehicles were counted daily passing through the tunnel.
construction
The tunnel consists of three sections, a 900 m long, double-section tunnel on the north bank of the port, a 400 m long, double-section tunnel on the south bank of the port and a 960 m long submerged tunnel in between. The difference in height between the deepest point of the tunnel, 25 m below the port, to the north exit is about 55 mm, that to the south exit is about 35 m.
The immersed tunnel consists of eight prefabricated concrete sections. These precast concrete parts were made in a casting pool in Port Kembla more than 100 km away from Sydney and then towed into Sydney Harbor. Before the concrete parts arrived, a trench was dug into which the tunnel sections were then lowered. After the sections had been installed, the trench was backfilled and closed at the top with rock slabs that were supposed to protect the tunnel against ship damage and torn anchors.
The underground tunnel sections at both ends were created using a combination of push technology and classic tunnel construction. The entire tunnel cost AU $ 554.25 million and is designed to withstand both earthquakes and sinking ships.
One of the northern piers of the Sydney Harbor Bridge was modified to provide an exit for the tunnel to vent. Additional ventilation entrances and exits are hidden behind clusters of bushes in Bradfield Park at the north end of the bridge.
Fresh air is drawn in by an underground fan station on the north bank of the port and forced into all sections of the tunnel. 14 axial fans with a diameter of 2.5 m each are used for this. The ventilation is provided by 16 fans, eight of which are housed in the two north piers of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. They can convey up to 1,500 m³ / s, which means a complete air change in the tunnel every 2 minutes. corresponds. In an emergency, all fans can run in the same direction and extract smoke from the tunnel. Each of the fans delivers 53-103 m³ / s. The fans have been subjected to intensive tests.
On August 30, 1992, the tunnel was opened to pedestrians for a day. The proceeds from ticket sales were donated to the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children . The next day the tunnel was opened to traffic.
business
The Sydney Harbor Tunnel is being built and operated in partnership between the government of New South Wales and selected private investors through tendering. Transfield Pty. Ltd. and Kunagai Gumi formed a 50/50 joint venture to build the tunnel and have a contract to operate from 1992 to 2023, including maintenance and the right to collect tolls . As a result of the 1997 division of the values of Transfield and the creation of Tenix , the rights and obligations for the operation of the tunnel in the remaining 30 years in the ratio of 50% (Kumagai Guni), 25% (Transfield) and 25% (Tenix) divided up. At the end of the contract in June 2023, the tunnel will fall to the state of New South Wales.
There were many skeptical voices against the construction contract with Transfield after other projects of the group - including those with submerged tunnels - showed structural problems that led to leaks.
Toll collection
In 2006, the New South Wales government announced that cash toll collection on Sydney roads would end in 2010 at the latest. In July 2007, a fully electronic toll collection system was introduced at the Sydney Harbor Tunnel, similar to those at the WestLink , Lane Cove Tunnel and Cross City Tunnel . This measure has significantly reduced the traffic congestion, which was also caused by the toll stations, which simplified the use of the tunnel and saved users time. Since 2009 there has been a variable toll of between AU $ 2.50 and AU $ 4.00, depending on the time of day. The toll is collected at the southern entrance to the tunnel.
Crossings and junctions
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Sydney Harbor Tunnel
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| Connections to the north | Distance to Brisbane (km) |
Distance to Sydney Airport (km) |
Connections to the south |
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At the end of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel, continue as the Warringah Freeway to Newcastle / Brisbane |
932 | 15th |
Beginning of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel from the Warringah Freeway
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| CROSSING UNDER PORT JACKSON | - | - | CROSSING UNDER PORT JACKSON |
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Beginning of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel further from the Cahill Expressway
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935 | 12 |
At the end of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel, continue as the Cahill Expressway to Wollongong / Canberra
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Web links and sources
- Webcam at the Sydney Harbor Tunnel, south entrance. RTA
- WT W (Bill) Cory: Fans & ventilation: a practical guide . Ed .: Elsevier in association with Roles & Assoc. Amsterdam; Boston 2005, ISBN 0-08-044626-4 , pp. 424 (English, reproduction of the original publication in The Daily Telegraph-Mirror Harbor Tunnel Souvenir).
- Juliet Pratley: Sydney Harbor Tunnel . In: Concrete International . Vol. 15, No. 7 , 1993, pp. 19-23 (English).
- Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing, Archerfield QLD 2007, ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 , pp. 21 + 22 (English).
Individual evidence
- ^ Ralston, Nick: Harbor tunnel still good value: govt . In: The Sydney Morning Herald . December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ↑ Cory, p. 17
- ^ Cory, p. 18
- ^ Sydney Harbor Tunnel . In: Building Sydney motorways . Roads and Maritime Services. October 31, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ Robins, Brian; Better, Linton: Sydney Harbor tunnel a $ 1b black hole . In: The Sydney Morning Herald . December 11, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ McDonald, Hamish: Take a look north for the road ahead . In: The Sydney Morning Herald . March 12, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ↑ Aston, Heath: Sydney toll network dumps coins . In: The Daily Telegraph . April 25, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ↑ Aston, Heath: Drivers' gridlock on e-tags . In: The Daily Telegraph . July 5, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Haynes, Rhys: Peak-hour tolls on the Harbor Bridge and Tunnel could be scrapped . In: The Daily Telegraph . July 19, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
