UNDER NSW
NSW rolls on through COVID storm New South Wales has been hit harder by the latest outbreak of COVID-19 than the rest of Australia in the past six months; however, a strong pipeline of significant and essential projects has ensured many in the trenchless sector can keep work ticking over at a steady pace. Western Sydney Airport Metro approved Tunnel boring machines are expected in the ground by the end of 2023 after the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport project received planning approval from the NSW Government in July 2021. Major construction is scheduled to commence in the coming months, with tunnelling contracts awarded by the end of the year. A total of 23 km of driverless metro will service western Sydney and the new Western Sydney International Airport between St Marys Station and the future Western Sydney Aerotropolis in Bringelly. The new railway line will become the transport spine for Greater Western Sydney, connecting communities and travellers with the new Western Sydney International Airport. The railway line is expected to transport up to 7,740 passengers each hour in each direction and it is anticipated the new infrastructure could take 110,000 vehicles off local roads each day, significantly reducing traffic congestion. The project will support 14,000 jobs, including 250 apprentices. Byron Bay undertakes $1.4m network upgrade Major upgrades to the region’s stormwater drainage network commenced on Monday 9 August. The Byron Shire Council has provided a $1.4 million grant from the Australian Government’s Local Roads and 28 TRENCHLESS AUSTRALASIA SEPTEMBER 2021
Community Infrastructure Program to upgrade Byron Bay’s stormwater drainage network, which covers across Lighthouse Road, Paterson Street and Kipling Street. “We are very excited to be delivering these critical works, which include the construction of kerb and gutter and underground stormwater drainage on Lighthouse Road,” says Byron Shire Council Director of Infrastructure Services Phil Holloway. These works will reduce stormwater runoff that currently impacts Clarkes Beach, mitigating the impact to the environment. Mr Holloway says that once upgraded, the stormwater network will capture, detain and that runoff from the roads and surrounding properties. The works are expected to take four months to complete. Planning approval granted for potential desalination plant and pipeline In August, the New South Wales Government approved Hunter Water‘s plans for a desalination plant at Belmont as a drought response measure, with the project to include pipeline installed under the ocean floor using trenchless technology as far as 1 km offshore. The plans are a reaction to water storage levels in the Lower Hunter, which recently reached its lowest point in nearly 40 years. The plant is designed to produce up to 30 million L of drinking water per day in response to drought.
This follows in the wake of the most recent drought of 2019-2020, which saw the introduction of water restrictions for the first time in decades. The Hunter Water team worked closely with the NSW Government, key stakeholders, and the local community, and planning approval was issued yesterday by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. The desalination plant, once constructed, will receive direct ocean seawater intake by piping seawater from 1 km offshore. The intake structure would be installed at a depth of approximately 20 m, extending 5 m above the ocean floor, and the pipeline will be installed under the ocean floor via a trenchless tunnelling method. Hunter Water Managing Director Darren Cleary says desalination is one of the few water supply options that is not dependent on rainfall. This would mean that with the construction of a plant, Hunter Water could continue to supply communities irrespective of changes in weather or climate. While the likelihood of having to construct the plant is low, it was imperative that Hunter Water sought planning approval, should it need to build in the near future. “Planning approval for the Belmont desalination plant gives us an additional tool to help close our supply gap during periods of drought, providing Hunter Water with the capacity to provide up to an additional
