Sydney Harbour Tunnel

Sydney Harbour Tunnel
Sydney Harbour Tunnel, northbound
Info
Location	Port Jackson
Coordinates	33°51′09″S 151°12′43″E / 33.85260°S 151.21187°E / -33.85260; 151.21187
Status	Active
Start	Warringah Freeway
End	Cahill Expressway
Operation
Opened	30 August 1992
Owner	Sydney Harbour Tunnel Company
Operator	Sydney Harbour Tunnel Company
Traffic	Automotive
Vehicles per day	86,800
Technical
Construction	January 1988 – August 1992
Length	2.8km
No. of lanes	4
Tunnel clearance	9m[1]
Width	10.5m[1]

The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel was completed and opened to traffic in August 1992 to provide a second vehicular crossing of Sydney Harbour to alleviate congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The tunnel joins the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney, and the Cahill Expressway at the entrance to the Domain Tunnel. It has two lanes in each direction, and runs at an angle of approximately thirty degrees (North to South) to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has eight lanes, with a tidal flow operation. In 2005, the tunnel was carrying around 86,800 vehicles per day.^[2]

Construction

The tunnel is made up of three sections: twin 900-metre land tunnels on the north shore, twin 400-metre land tunnels on the south shore and a 960-metre immersed tube (IMT) structure. The tunnel falls about 55 metres from the northern entrance and about 35 metres from the southern entrance to its deepest point, 25 metres below sea level.

The IMT structure consists of eight precast concrete units. The units were constructed over 100 kilometres away in a casting basin at Port Kembla and then towed to Sydney Harbour. A trench was dredged before the arrival of the IMTs and then the IMTs were lowered into the trench by a system of pontoons and control towers. After the IMTs were in place the trenches were backfilled and then a rock armour was placed over the top to protect the units against marine hazards, such as anchors or sinking vessels.

The land tunnels were constructed by a combination of driving and cut-and-cover techniques. The total construction cost of the project was A$554.25 million, and was designed to be strong enough to withstand the impact of earthquakes and sinking ships.

One of the northern end pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was altered to allow for air exhaust from the tunnel to rise over the harbour. Bradfield Park on the northern side of the bridge also has hidden air intakes behind some conspicuously placed bushes.

The tunnel was opened to the public to walk through from North Sydney (Falcon Street) to South Sydney (The Domain) on 30 August 1992. The proceeds of the tickets sold for this event were donated to the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. The tunnel opened to traffic on 31 August 1992.^[2]

Operator

The Harbour Tunnel was a partnership between the New South Wales State Government and private investors by tender. Transfield Pty Limited and Kumagai Gumi formed a joint venture company which constructed the tunnel under contract. The tunnel is currently on a thirty-year lease, and will be handed back to the New South Wales State Government in August 2022.

There was a lot of scepticism surrounding the appointment of Transfield to build the tunnel, after other projects including IMT tunnels, carried out by the group, developed structural problems resulting in leaks.

Tolling

Only southbound traffic (both for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and Bridge) attracts a varying toll of between A$2.50 and A$4.00, depending on the time of day (currently). The New South Wales Government announced in 2006 that the Sydney Orbital Network will phase out cash tolls by 2010.^[3]

The Sydney Harbour Tunnel went fully electronic in July 2007 with both e-TAG and e-pass video tolling arrangements in use, similar to technologies used the Westlink M7, Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove Tunnel.^[4] This measure has substantially eased the traffic jams heading towards the electronic gantries, and providing increased convenience and time savings.

Exits and Interchanges

Sydney Harbour Tunnel
Northwestbound exits	Distance to Brisbane (km)	Distance to Sydney Airport (km)	Southeastbound exits
End Sydney Harbour Tunnel continues as Warringah Freeway to Newcastle / Brisbane	932	15	Start Sydney Harbour Tunnel from Warringah Freeway
PORT JACKSON CROSSING	--	--	PORT JACKSON CROSSING
Start Sydney Harbour Tunnel continues from Cahill Expressway	935	12	End Sydney Harbour Tunnel continues as Cahill Expressway to Wollongong / Canberra

See also

• Freeways in Australia
• Freeways in Sydney

Notes

References

Crossings of Port Jackson Upstream Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney Harbour Tunnel Downstream Tasman Sea (Spit Bridge on Middle Harbour)