History
A joint venture between Thiess and John Holland was awarded the $1.1 billion contract by Connector Motorways to design and construct the tunnel. Previously, motorists had to drive along Epping Road through the suburb of Lane Cove, for the few kilometres between the two freeway sections.
In the early hours of November 2, 2005 the roof area of a ventilation tunnel for the project collapsed. The roof collapse caused the road above the area to subside, and damage a three-storey building at 11-13 Longueville Road. The collapse caused a 10 metre by 10 metre crater to appear near the Pacific Highway's southbound exit ramp in Lane Cove, with forty seven people evacuated from the building. Emergency crews pumped 1000 cubic metres of concrete into the hole to try to stop the housing block from collapsing into it. An investigation by Workcover NSW found that the collapse was caused by geological conditions at the site, the large span width of the tunnel, and inadequacy of roof support. The proximity of the excavations to the surface resulted in the property damage.
The tunnel was opened by four workers, representing the 9,000 that worked on the Lane Cove Tunnel, Falcon Street Gateway and the widened Gore Hill Freeway Project on Sunday, March 25, 2007, two months ahead of schedule. The tunnel opened with a one-month toll-free period (as occurred with the Westlink M7).
Read more about this topic: Lane Cove Tunnel
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