Making the announcement alongside Minister for WestConnex Stuart Ayres, the Premier revealed a John Holland-CPB-Contractors JV and a Lend Lease-Samsung-Bouygues JV had been selected to tender for the contract to build the new bypass.
Following the release of the concept design last month, the two JVs will submit tenders that include the design and build of the mainline tunnel, which extends from Haberfield to St Peters to bypass the Sydney CBD.
The M4-M5 Link is an integral part of the WestConnex project, providing a connection for motorists between the upgraded M4 and M5 motorways, as well to Port Botany, the airport and, in the future, the M6.
In order to make the tunnel operational as early as possible, the mainline tunnel will be delivered as a standalone project, operating independently of the Rozelle Interchange and Iron Cove Link until a later date.
“With the widened M4 set to open on Saturday 15 July and tunnelling past the halfway mark on M4 East tunnels, we are moving forward with the final stage of WestConnex which will provide congestion relief for thousands of drivers a day,” said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
“This is a Government getting on with the job of delivering the major road infrastructure drivers so desperately need.”
The WestConnex project is being financially supported by a AU$1.5 billion grant from the Federal Government and AU$2 billion concessional loan to the NSW government.
Work on the M4-M5 Link is set to start in 2018, with the new M4 tunnels anticipated to open in 2019.
For more information visit the WestConnex website.
If you have a project you would like featured in Trenchless Australasia contact Editor Nick Lovering at nlovering@gs-press.com.au