The three-storey underground interchange,which varies in depth between 35 and 65 metres,will act as a linchpin for the 33-kilometre,$16.8 billion WestConnex project,and also provide the connection to a future Western Harbour Tunnel.
Project Director Tarnjit Chahal,who has worked on tunnelling projects around the world,said he wasn’t aware of a more complex piece of underground road infrastructure.
“I’ve worked on a number of large tunnelling projects both here in Australia and internationally,and this is certainly one of the most fascinating,” Mr Chahal told theHerald.
“We haven’t been able to find a spaghetti junction created underground as complex as this,this is probably one of the world’s first.”
Tunnelling is expected to begin in early 2020,with the coarse but predictable sandstone lying beneath Rozelle and Lilyfield allowing dozens of tunnelling machines to work simultaneously underground,day and night,until the project’s completion,which is slated for 2023.
Tunnelling plans revealed to theHeraldsuggest some of the most intricate and multi-layered work for the $3.9 billion project will be carried out beneath the centre of Rozelle,underneath Cook,Denison and Foucart Streets.