Sydney Harbour Tunnel
The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel was completed and opened to traffic in August 1992 to provide a second vehicular crossing of Sydney Harbour to alleviate congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is one of two transportation tunnels under the harbour, the other being a set of rail tunnels for the Sydney Metro.[2][3]
The tunnel joins the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney and the Cahill Expressway at the entrance to the Domain Tunnel. It has two lanes in each direction, and runs at an angle of approximately thirty degrees (north to south) to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has eight lanes, with a tidal flow operation. In 2017, the tunnel was carrying around 96,000 vehicles per day.[4][5]
Operations and maintenance[edit]
The Harbour Tunnel was a partnership between the New South Wales government and private investors by tender. Transfield and Kumagai Gumi formed a 50/50 joint venture company which constructed the tunnel under contract; with a 30-year operating contract, including revenue collection and maintenance, from 1992 until 2022. As a result of the 1997 separation of assets of Transfield and the creation of the Tenix group (owned by Olbia), the ongoing 30-year operating contract for management of the tunnel was split between Kumagai Gumi (50%), Transfield (25%) and Olbia (25%).[8]
The total construction cost of the project was $554 million.[9] $223 million of this was an interest-free loan from the NSW Government, to be repaid at the conclusion of the operating contract in August 2022 when the tunnel would be transferred to public ownership.[9] The government had also guaranteed an Ensured Revenue Stream (ERS) to the operator, whereby it makes up the shortfall between toll collections and the guaranteed amount.[10] As toll revenues have been below the projected amount, in 2008 for example, the government paid the operator $58.9 million, with the total amount forecast to be $1.1 billion from 2008 to 2022.[10] The NSW Auditor-General had also raised concerns that the tunnel's expenses may make the operating company default on the $223 million loan,[11] however the government remained confident in it.[9]
With the 30-year operating contract about to expire, in April 2022, the state government signed a 15-year contract with Ventia for the asset management, operations and maintenance of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel as well as the under-construction Western Harbour Tunnel.[12] Tolling arrangements were unrelated to the new agreement. On 1 September 2022, the tunnel reverted back to state government ownership.
Tolls[edit]
In 2006 the New South Wales government announced that all cash tolls on the Sydney Orbital Network would cease by 2010.[13] The Sydney Harbour Tunnel went fully electronic in July 2007 with both e-TAG and e-pass video tolling arrangements in use, similar to technologies used by the Westlink M7, Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove Tunnel.[14] This measure has substantially eased the traffic jams heading towards the electronic gantries, and providing increased convenience and time savings. The Sydney Harbour Tunnel attracts a varying toll (that was introduced in 2009) of between $2.50 and $4.00, depending on the time of day.[15] The toll is levied on the southbound approach to the tunnel entrance.
Until July 2022 it was unannounced whether tolls would continue after the transfer of ownership to the state government on 1 September 2022.[16] It was eventually announced by the state government that the toll would continue, to be used for maintenance just like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[17] Tolls will rise in October 2023 for the first time in 14 years.[18]
History[edit]
The tunnel was opened to the public to walk through from North Sydney (Falcon Street) to Eastern Sydney (The Domain) on 30 August 1992. The proceeds of the tickets sold for this event were donated to the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children.
The tunnel opened to traffic on 31 August 1992.[19]