The Western Harbour Tunnel will be the second road tunnel under Sydney Harbour. The tunnel will connect the WestConnex Rozelle Interchange with the Warringah Freeway at Cammeray. Once complete and pending the construction of the proposed Beaches Link, there will be a continuous connection from WestConnex at Rozelle to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Key components of the Western Harbour Tunnel will include:
- twin tunnels, each with three lanes and approximately 6.5 kilometres long
- the crossing of Sydney Harbour between Birchgrove and Waverton constructed using tunnel boring machines
- tunnel-to-tunnel connection to the M4-M5 Link near Rozelle Interchange
- future connection options for Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway
- surface connections to City West Link at Rozelle and to Warringah Freeway, Falcon Street and Berry Street in North Sydney, and
- ancillary infrastructure to enable ongoing operation of the tunnel.
The Tunnel will be delivered through two packages. Stage One includes construction of approximately 1.7 kilometres of twin three-lane tunnels between Rozelle and Birchgrove. Stage Two includes construction of northern tunnelling from Birchgrove, through Sydney Harbour and onto North Sydney, the marine work and all the tunnel fit-out.
Key Dates
| Jan 2022 | Contract Award Stage One |
| 2022 | Construction Commencement Stage One |
| Dec 2022 | Contract Award Stage Two |
| 2023 | Construction Commencement Stage Two |
| Dec 2028 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
|
The NSW 2021-22 Budget allocated $6.3 billion over the next four years for the Western Harbour Tunnel, Beaches Link and Warringah Freeway Upgrade, including $454 million in FY2021-22. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Transport for NSW |
| Procurement note: | The NSW Government established a procurement process for a Development Partner in October 2020 and shortlisted Bechtel, Laing O'Rourke, and the Harbour West Partners Consortium, comprising Macquarie Capital, Jacobs and RPS in December 2020. Subsequently, this process was cancelled in September 2021. |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jan 2014 | The project was identified in Infrastructure NSW’s 2014 State Infrastructure Strategy |
| Jan 2016 | The NSW Budget allocated funding to commence planning |
| 2017 | $77 million was committed towards geotechnical investigations |
| Mar 2017 | The preferred route was announced and a market sounding process commenced |
| Apr 2017 | Coffey and AECOM were engaged to conduct geotechnical investigations along the route, including 235 boreholes. |
| Nov 2017 | A State Significant Infrastructure Application (SSIA) was lodged to identify topics for a future Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) |
| Dec 2017 | Secretary's Environmental Assessmenet Requirements issued for preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement |
| Jul 2018 | The NSW Government announced that the Western Harbour Tunnel would be tolled and indicating the Tunnel contract would include the Warringah Freeway Upgrade. |
| Jan 2020 | The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment placed the EIS for the project on public exhibition on 29 January 2020. The exhibition period will close on 12 March 2020. |
| Feb 2020 | DPIE extended the public exhibition period of the EIS from 12 March to 30 March 2020. |
| Jul 2020 | The NSW Government announced it will be seeking a Development Partner to assist with the procurement and delivery of the project, with an Expression of Interest for the Development Partner expected in August 2020. |
| Jul 2020 | The NSW Government issued a Request for Proposals for the contamination drilling and testing works. Proponents were required to submit a Confidentiality Deed Poll to TfNSW by 16 July 2020. |
| Nov 2020 | The 2020-21 NSW Budget allocated $356 million to the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade for FY2020-21. The funding will be provided towards planning and preconstruction activities. |
| Dec 2020 | The NSW Government announced the shortlist for the Delivery Partner contract. Shortlisted bidders were Bechtel Infrastructure, Laing O'Rourke and Harbour West Partners a consortium comprising Macquarie Capital, Jacobs and RPS. |
| Mar 2021 | The NSW Government opened Pre-Registrations for the Western Harbour Tunnel. Main works on the project will be split into Package One, which includes an immersed tube crossing and marine works, and Package Two, which includes driven tunnels and mechanical and electrical fitout works. Pre-Registrations close on 14 May. |
| May 2021 | Infrastructure Australia added the project to the Infrastructure Priority List as a Priority Project. |
| Jun 2021 | The NSW 2021-22 Budget allocated $6.3 billion over the next four years for the Western Harbour Tunnel, Beaches Link and Warringah Freeway Upgrade, including $454 million in FY2021-22. This includes $108 million to the Western Harbour Tunnel for FY2021-22. |
| Sep 2021 | The NSW Government cancelled the procurement process for a Western Harbour Tunnel Development Partner, instead moving to a traditional design and construction commercial framework. All shortlisted bidders were to receive an equal compensation payment. |
| Sep 2021 | The NSW Government confirmed that construction for the project had moved from commencing in 2021 and reaching completion in 2026 to a 2022 commencement and 2027 completion. |
| Sep 2021 | The NSW Government opened a Request for Tender process for the Geotechnical drilling and groundwater monitoring for the project, closing on 15 October. |
| Dec 2021 | The NSW Government awarded the Western Harbour Tunnel Geotechnical Investigation and Groundwater Monitoring package to GHD. |
| Jan 2022 | The NSW Government awarded the $722 million Stage One contract to a John Holland and CPB Joint Venture, as a modification to the Rozelle Interchange contract. |
| Jan 2022 | The NSW Government shortlisted three bidders for Stage Two. The shortlisted bidders were ACCIONA, a Bouygues Construction and VINCI Construction Grands Projets Joint Venture, and a John Holland, CPB Contractors and UGL Engineering Joint Venture. |
| Apr 2022 | Transport for NSW (TfNSW) awarded the $450 million Asset Management Services contract to Ventia. |
| Jul 2022 | Stage One main works commence. |
| Dec 2022 | ACCIONA is awarded the Stage Two contract. |
| Nov 2023 | Stage Two main works commence. |
Sector
Road
Procurement approach
Traditional Procurement |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
Infrastructure agency resources
NSW State Infrastructure Strategy 2018 - 2038NSW Infrastructure Pipeline
Government resources
Project Update - July 2018State Significant Infrastructure Application Fact Sheet
EIS Documents
Fact Sheet - Spring 2017
Scoping Report
