Queensland - au/30MotorwayThe Brisbane city council has appointed a Sinclair Knight Merz and Connell Wagner joint venture to plan the 5.5 km northern link road, which includes a 4.7 km tunnel under the inner-western suburbs of Brisbane, between the western freeway and the inner city bypass. The route will start at the Toowong roundabout and head northeast towards the city, running under suburbs such as Red Hill, Auchenflower, Rosalie, Paddington and Kelvin Grove. The detailed plan will be drawn up this year and pending approval, the project will go to tender in 2009. It is not expected to open until 2014. Click here to download the map. Visit www.skmconsulting.com and www.conwag.comThe northern link will be the fourth project in the TransApex ring road vision. Work has already started on the North-South Bypass Tunnel and the Hale Street Link, while the preferred tenderer for the Airport Link has just been named. 22/08.Expressions of interest are invited until 10th October, 2008 for the financing, design, construction, operation, maintenance of the Northern Link in Brisbane, consisting of parallel 5 km hard rock tunnels, safety and ventilation systems, fire protection and monitoring systems, and electronic tolling system. The purpose of the tunnel is to link the western freeway in Toowong to the Inner City bypass at Kelvin Grove under the TransApex plan inner-city motorway ring. The project is to be undertaken as public-private partnership. The Northern Link tunnel will enable motorists to drive from Brisbane's Centenary suburbs to the airport without stopping at a single traffic light. Planners need to go forward with the environmental impact statement. The objective is to take the process forward so that by Christmas 2009, a contract can be awarded before moving to financial close and seeing the commencement of tunnelling work and the ultimate completion in 2014. To register interest, visit www.evalua.com.au/etb/bcc/ExternalTenderDetails.htm?id=15892484#bottom or contact Queensland government, tel. +61 734037686 or e-mail judy.gold@brisbane.qld.gov.au 41/08.

The round of expressions of interest for the 4.7 km-long Northern Link tunnel, now a Brisbane City Council project, has closed after registration of seven consortia. Australian-led consortia are LBRJV (Baulderstone/Leighton), Transfield with Laing O'Rourke, and TunneLink (Abigroup/Thiess John Holland). The remaining four are: KEJV/Daelim, Korea; Dragados Northern Link, Spain; TransCity, Italy/Spain/Australia; and Northern Direct, UK/France. The tender process will be completed by end-June, 2010 for award by end of year. Project history and map at tunnelbuilder archive au/30, and visit www.ats.org.au/index.php?option=com_content and www.brisbane.qld.gov.au. 47/09.