• Source: St Helena Tunnel

      • The St Helena Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel that forms part of the Pacific Highway in the Byron Bay hinterland in New South Wales, Australia. The 434-metre-long (1,424 ft) tunnel under St Helena Hill in Ewingsdale was built as part of the 17-kilometre (11 mi) Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade, which involved a new alignment of the highway.


      Features


      The tunnel was built to avoid the steep grades of St Helena Hill on the previous alignment of the highway, and the associated heavy truck noise and pollution. At its deepest point the tunnel is 45 metres (148 ft) below the 131-metre-high (430 ft) ridge line. There are two tunnels, with the northbound tunnel accommodating two traffic lanes and the southbound three traffic lanes, due to the gradient of the highway at this point. There is also a bicycle/pedestrian lane in each tunnel.
      The cost of the Tintenbar–Ewingsdale upgrade project was $862 million, jointly funded by the Federal and New South Wales governments. It opened on 18 December 2015.
      The St Helena Road passes over the top of the tunnel and provides local access to the Bangalow Road (B62) that is a link between Bangalow and Byron Bay.


      Milestones


      January 2010 – Planning approval and construction funding for the Tintenbar to Ewingsdale project including the St Helena Tunnel
      May 2010 – Roads & Maritime Services called for expressions of interest for the construction of the upgrade
      December 2010 – three companies were invited to submit detailed tenders
      August 2011 – the contract was awarded to Lendlease
      27 September 2012 – the shovel ceremony was held to commemorate the start of construction
      28 May 2013 – Blasting began on the twin tunnels
      24 January 2014 – Excavator broke through on the northbound tunnel
      26 February 2014 – Excavator broke through on the southbound tunnel
      December 2015 – Commissioning of tunnels began
      18 December 2015 – The highway upgrade, including the twin tunnels, opened to traffic


      Gallery





















      References




      External links


      Pacific Highway Tintenbar to Ewingsdale Upgrade Roads & Maritime Services

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