NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lane Cove Tunnel

The Lane Cove Tunnel is a AU$1.1 billion, 3.6km twin tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnels link the Gore Hill Freeway with the M2 Motorway at North Ryde. The tunnel was opened on Sunday, March 25 2007, two months earlier than when it was contractually due to open on May 9 2007.^[1] The operator, Connector Motorways, gave the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) 30 days notice of opening on Friday, February 23. There was a toll-free period lasting for one month upon the initial opening of the tunnel (as occurred with the Westlink M7). The toll now costs $2.55 for Passenger Vehicles and $5.09 for Heavy Vehicles, both eastbound and westbound (Toll Prices). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 316 pixelsFull resolution (1079 Ã— 426 pixel, file size: 33 KB, MIME type: image/png) Lane Cove tunnel in Sydney logo This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. ... The M2 Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a motorway in north-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... The colour scheme used to denote a primary route. ... Artarmon is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Mosman is a suburb in the Municipality of Mosman on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ISO 4217 Code AUD User(s) Australia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island Inflation 4% (Australia only) Source Reserve Bank of Australia, June 2006 Subunit 1/100 cent Symbol $ or AUD Coins 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c , $1, $2 Banknotes $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 Central... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... Metroad 1 or M1 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Metroad 2 or M2 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... North Ryde is a suburb in the north of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Connector Motorways is an Australian toll road operator. ... The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) is a New South Wales (Australia) Government agency responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. ... M7 Metroad marker M7 motorwaymarker Westlink M7, formerly named the Western Sydney Orbital, is one of Sydneys urban motorways and is a part of Sydney Metroad 7 and the Sydney Orbital Motorway network. ...

A joint venture between Thiess and John Holland Construction were awarded the $1.1 billion contract from the (RTA) to construct and run the tunnel for a 33 year lease.

Previously, motorists had to drive along Epping Road through the suburb of Lane Cove, for the few kilometres between the two freeway sections. The tunnel is designed to improve the flow of traffic coming into the Sydney CBD from the fast-growing Northwest suburbs in the Hills District and the northern parts of Western Sydney. The new road has a toll each way. When the surface road changes are completed, the existing Epping Road will have 24 hour bus lanes each way, a larger median strip and other measures to move motorists towards using the new tunnel. Epping Road, also known as the Epping Highway, is an important arterial road in suburban Sydney. ... Lane Cove is a suburb and Local Government Area (LGA) located about 10km from the central business district. ... A view of the Sydney CBD from the Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay is in the foreground Map of the CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 km from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. ... Hills District is an informal term for the north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, consisting of Baulkham Hills Shire and the western part of Hornsby Shire. ... Western Sydney is a very general, informal, term which is used to describe the western parts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. ...

The tunnel was heavily criticised by the Lane Cove Tunnel Action Group, particularly through the use of placards located prominently by the side of Epping Road between Centennial and Parklands Avenues, for the tunnel's lack of air filtration.

Construction collapse

On 2 November 2005 at Lane Cove a hole appeared under a block of road facing apartments that decended through to a branch of the main tunnel. The hole was six metres wide and between eight to ten metres deep. is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lane Cove is a suburb in the Municipality of Lane Cove, on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ...

Occurring next to the Pacific Highway overpass at the start of the Gore Hill Freeway, the collapse caused traffic chaos for a few days. This branch tunnel was for the Pacific Highway off-ramp. Workers excavating the tunnel using a roadheader struck a pocket of underground water at around 2am local time which then began to flood the tunnel. The workers fled and escaped injury, but the emptying of the pocket of water made the soft rock (while most of Sydney is sandstone, there are regions of shale, such as in the area of the collapse) and soil fall down to fill the hole. This area of the tunnel was directly below the corner of an old block of units, and opened up a ten metre deep hole from the surface to the tunnel floor. The unit block then began to fall into the hole, beginning with the ground floor corner unit directly above the hole. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A typical roadheader A roadheader, also called a boom-type roadheader, road header machine, road header or just header machine, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a boom-mounted cutting head, a loading device usually involving a conveyor, and a crawler travelling track to move the entire machine... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ...

Police evacuated the residents of the unit block in the middle of the night. As a result, no one was injured or killed by this incident. After the evacuation police used robots to determine the stability of the units. One resident bird "Tweety" was rescued in the process. Workers then spent several days filling the hole with the contents of 180 concrete trucks, burying the AU$5 million dollar roadheader at the bottom of the tunnel in a concrete mausoleum. Efforts then began to shore up the unit block with steel supports, in the hope that it could be made stable enough that residents could safely return to collect their belongings.

With the closure of the offramp for the ensuing weeks, frequent bus services such as the 536 (Gladesville - Chatswood) service were re-routed, and the popular bus stop along Epping Road was relocated. Theiss has offered to purchase units in the two affected blocks. Gladesville is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Chatswood is a suburb in North Shore in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and the seat of the City of Willoughby local government area. ...

Falcon Street Gateway

The "Falcon Street Gateway" - are a new set of north facing ramps on the Warringah Freeway. The toll costs $1.27 for Passenger Vehicles and $2.55 for Heavy Vehicles (Southbound and northbound) Toll Prices at which on a per kilometre basis, they are the most expensive in Sydney. Connector Motorways promote that by using the new ramps, up to 19 sets of traffic lights can be avoided. The ramps were insisted upon by the RTA without having to spend taxpayer dollars (in addition to the widening of the Gore Hill Freeway), so the toll collected at the Falcon Street Gateway will also help fund the expanded Gore Hill Freeway. The Warringah Freeway looking south at its widest point - 16 lanes View of the Warringah Freeway looking north, over the inner western carriageway. ...

2007 Election

The Labor government has been accused of interfering in the tunnel project to increase its re-election chances in the March 2007 election. The tunnel's expected late-2006 opening was pushed back to "January or February", closer to the poll date.^[2] This timeframe was missed and the opening was announced to be March 25th, the day after the election. The next legislative election for the New South Wales Parliament will be held on Saturday, 24 March 2007. ...

In December 2006, it was announced that surface road changes designed to funnel traffic into the new, tolled, tunnel would be delayed until after the election. The delay, which will likely cut into tunnel revenues, was agreed to by the operators at a cost to taxpayers of $25 million.^[3]^[4]

Though the government and Connector Motorways denied that the payment was improper, the opposition and media were incensed.

The Sydney Morning Herald described the payment as a "bribe" and a "political rort". According to a Herald editorial, "The use of public funds to compensate Connector Motorways for delays to road changes around the tunnel is ... as cynical a piece of political jobbery as Sydney has seen in many a long year."^[5]

References

id="External_links"> Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... O2 can refer to: Oxygen O2 plc, a telecommunications company. ... O2 can refer to: Oxygen O2 plc, a telecommunications company. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

Categories: Transport in Sydney | Tunnels in Australia | Toll roads in Australia M1 motorway marker Southbound Eastern Distributor tunnel entrance at Woolloomooloo The Eastern Distributor is a six-kilometre long motorway forming part of Sydney Metroad 1. ... The M2 Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a motorway in north-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... The M4 Western Motorway (also known as the M4 Motorway or simply M4) is a motorway in central Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... The M5 South Western Motorway (also known as the M5 South West Motorway, M5 Motorway or simply M5) is a motorway in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... M7 Metroad marker M7 motorwaymarker Westlink M7, formerly named the Western Sydney Orbital, is one of Sydneys urban motorways and is a part of Sydney Metroad 7 and the Sydney Orbital Motorway network. ... The Cahill Expressway was the first true freeway constructed in Sydney, Australia. ... Metroad 1 or M1 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Southern Cross Drive, near Moore Park Southern Cross Drive is a major road in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Southern Freeway is a freeway linking Sydney to Wollongong. ... The M5 South Western Motorway (also known as the M5 South West Motorway, M5 Motorway or simply M5) is a motorway in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Approximate road distances (in kilometres) of towns and cities along the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway from Sydney The Sydney-Newcastle Freeway is a 127-km stretch of motorway linking Sydney to the Central Coast, Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales and is part of the AusLink road corridor between... The Warringah Freeway looking south at its widest point - 16 lanes View of the Warringah Freeway looking north, over the inner western carriageway. ... The Western Distributor is a primarily elevated small freeway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that links Victoria Road, White Bay (Rozelle), with the Bradfield Highway at the southern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. ... General Holmes Drive is a major road that runs through Brighton-Le-Sands and Kyeemagh in New South Wales, Australia. ... Metroad 1 or M1 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Metroad 2 marker Metroad 2 is a Metroad in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Metroad 3 or M3 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Metroad 4 or M4 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Metroad 5 (M5) is a main arterial route linking Sydneys city centre to its south western suburbs and beyond. ... The Metroad 6 or M6 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... Metroad 7 or M7 is one of Sydney, Australias former Metroads. ... The Northern Road is signed as Metroad 9 Metroad 9 or M9 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... The Metroad 10 Metroad 10 or M10 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... The old Glebe Island Bridge alongside its replacement The ANZAC Bridge or Anzac Bridge (both forms are used by the Roads and Traffic Authority), formerly known as the Glebe Island Bridge, is a large cable-stayed bridge spanning Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Rozelle in proximity to the central business... Cross City Tunnel exit at Sir John Young Crescent, Woolloomooloo. ... South-west view of Fig Tree Bridge in Sydney, from the southern abutment of the old bridge. ... Gladesville Bridge: The span of the bridge is 305 m (1,000 ft) and at its highest point gives a clearance of 61 m (200 ft). ... The Iron Cove Bridge links the suburbs of Rozelle and Drummoyne across Iron Cove in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. ... The Ryde Bridge is a bridge in Sydney, Australia that links the suburb of Ryde in Sydneys North Shore to the suburb of Rhodes in Sydneys Inner West. ... Spit Bridge by Night, from Ellerys Punt Reserve The Spit Bridge is a bascule bridge that carries Spit Road over Middle Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at a point called The Spit, 10 km north-east of the CBD. It connects the suburbs of Mosman, on the... The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ... Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Northbound The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a tunnel in Sydney, Australia. ... Tarban Creek Bridge is an arch bridge that spans Tarban Creek, west of central Sydney, Australia. ... The Sydney Orbital Network is a 110-km motorway ring-road in the city of Sydney, Australia. ... // There have been various forms of Sydney Bypass for decades. ... Metroad 4 or M4 is one of Sydney, Australias Metroads. ... The Marrickville Tunnel is a possible underground road tunnel that would link Sydneys Kingsford Smith International Airport with an undetermined location on Parramatta Road. ... If the vacant corridor that is left beetween the Westlink M7 and Castlereagh Road was built it would probably adopt the Metroad 8 marker. ... The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) is a New South Wales Government agency responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. ... Connector Motorways is an Australian toll road operator. ... Transurban is an Australian transnational Corporation which buys toll roads all over the world. ... Sydney Monorail above Market Street, Sydney Sydney has one of the most complex and extensive transportation systems in Australia. ...

Contents

Construction collapse GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Falcon Street Gateway

2007 Election

References

External links

Construction collapse