Roadheaders Enter in Action on North-South Bypass Tunnel in BrisbaneTunnelling is starting at Kangaroo Point on Brisbane's North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT) two months early after the delivery of a AUD4 million roadheader drilling machine. The Exterminator, as it is called, is the first of six such machines which can drill through rock at a rate of 2 m a day and will be used to excavate the entry and exit ramps of the AUD3 billion tunnel. The first roadheader has been lowered into the ground to begin work on 14th February by RiverCity Motorway, the consortium of Leighton Contractors and the Bilfinger Berger / Baulderstone Hornibrook JV building the tunnel. The roadheaders will excavate single-, dual- or triple-lane tunnels. The construction access shaft at Kangaroo Point is completed as is a large shed over it. All tunnelling work will be carried out underground and inside the acoustic shed, with work continuing 24 hours a day. Excavated material will be transported to the large acoustic shed and all excavated material and any other materials required to build the tunnels will be loaded and unloaded inside this shed. Movement of these materials on and off site will generally be between 6.30 am and 6.30 pm. All tunnelling work in this area will be done by roadheader machines until late in 2008 when two 12.3 m-diameter Herrenknecht TBMs will traverse the area (see here). The machines are under construction in Schwanau, Germany and due to be delivered from the end of the year. They will be the largest put to work in Australia. Read E-News Weekly 29/2006. Click au/21. Visit www.herrenknecht.comAt Bowen Hills, relocation of underground services is underway in all work areas. Excavation is continuing at the entry and exit ramps by drill and blast. Excavation of a construction access shaft is also under way by drill and blast. The North-South Bypass Tunnel entrance which is ready for the drilling machines at Kangaroo Point At the Woolloongabba area, excavation of a tunnel access shaft at Gibbon Street is under way, including earthworks and rock breaking.The NSBT will link Ipswich Road and the Pacific Motorway (M3) in southside Woolloongabba to Lutwyche Road and the Inner City Bypass (ICB) in Bowen Hills under the Brisbane River. View alignment maps here. The NSBT comprises two 4.8 km-long separate parallel tunnels - one for northbound and one for southbound traffic, each with two lanes; cross passages connecting the tunnels for emergency exits; connecting ramps to and from the eastern suburbs at Shafston Avenue at Kangaroo Point; connections to the ICB and Lutwyche Road at Bowen Hills in the north; connections to the Pacific Motorway (M3) and Ipswich Road at Woolloongabba in the south; a ventilation system for managing in-tunnel air quality; two ventilation outlets, one in Woolloongabba and one in Bowen Hills, and a ventilation fan station adjacent to each ventilation outlet; a fire and safety system, supported by CCTV surveillance; an in-tunnel traffic management and control centre; and emergency service facilities. The tunnel entries and exits are designed to maximise safety for motorists. By providing a streamlined route between Bowen Hills and Woolloongabba, with an entry/exit point at Kangaroo Point, a ring road system is created linking north-south and east-west traffic. This ring road will ease congestion and cater for the city's future traffic needs. The tunnel will save through-traffic up to 15 minutes in peak periods with motorists avoiding up to 18 sets of traffic lights. The NSBT is still on track to be finished by October 2010. When complete, the NSBT will be the longest road tunnel in Australia. Visit www.rivercitymotorway.net.au and www.nsbt-eis.comThe project will be constructed in rock below the City and under the Brisbane River. Large sheds over work areas in Shafston Avenue, Campbell Street and Gibbon Street will reduce noise and dust from tunnelling activities. Material excavated from the site overnight will be stockpiled inside these sheds for removal the following day. Assurance has been given that the Cross City tunnel fiasco in Sydney will not be repeated in Brisbane. The Cross City tunnel went into receivership in end December. Read E-News Weekly 1/2007. The NSBT toll will be the lowest per kilometre when compared with other similar tunnels in Sydney and Melbourne (in 2006 prices). See table below. At 54 cents per kilometre (in 2006 prices), in many cases Brisbane motorists will be paying almost 50% less than motorists using tunnels in Sydney and Melbourne. Most importantly, the NSBT will make it quicker, easier and safer for motorists to get around Brisbane. 09/07. Tunnel name Toll² Length³ Cost/km North-South Tunnel Bypass AUD3.71 6.8 km AUD0.54/km Lane Cove¹ AUD2.60 3.6 km AUD0.72/km Eastern Distributor AUD4.50 6 km AUD0.75/km Melbourne CityLink (Burnley tunnel) AUD3.42 3.5 km AUD0.98/km Sydney Harbour AUD3.00 2.8 km AUD1.07/km EastLink AUD2.15 1.6 km AUD1.34/km Cross City AUD3.50 2.1 km AUD1.67/km ¹ Pending announcement of the toll. This amount has been announced as the maximum toll for the tunnel² Car, one way, 2006 prices³ Length of tunnel and adjoining surface roads