Tunnelling for the third road crossing of Sydney Harbour is more than 60% complete.
Today marks 12 months since the start of Stage 2 on the Western Harbour Tunnel from the Warringah Freeway to Cammeray, and six roadheaders have excavated 2.9km of twin three-lane road tunnels, passing above the Sydney Metro tunnel at North Sydney and working towards Waverton.
Tunnelling is progressing at about 25m a week towards the harbour.
The 6.5km Western Harbour Tunnel is the first new road crossing of the harbour in more than 30 years. It will reduce journey times between North Sydney and Sydney Olympic Park or Leichhardt by 20 minutes and is due to open to traffic in 2028.
The first stage of tunnelling work – twin 1.7km road tunnels to Birchgrove that connect into the Rozelle Interchange – is all but complete.
In late 2025, the largest TBMs ever used in the southern hemisphere will be assembled at Birchgrove and tunnel under the harbour floor to connect at Waverton.
Each roadheader can excavate 1,000 tonnes of rock per day. Transport for NSW, in partnership with Stage 2 contractor Acciona, is trialling a remote control roadheader that enables workers to remain 200m away from the rock face.
A total of 666,000 rock bolts have so far been installed on both stages of the project.
Minister for roads John Graham said that over projects fromWestConnex to Sydney Metro to the Western Harbour Tunnel, NSW had the world’s premier underground construction workforce and thanked the 5,800 workers for what they have achieved.
“At the 12-month mark of Stage 2, we are seeing great progress, with more than 60% of the entire tunnelling task now complete and the project on schedule to provide the first new road crossing of Sydney Harbour in more than 30 years,” he said.
“Anyone who has crossed the harbour by road knows the system is constrained and the Western Harbour Tunnel will provide much-needed relief, slashing travel times by 20 minutes on a journey from North Sydney to Leichardt or Sydney Olympic Park.”
