Western Harbour Tunnel - MOD 2

As a resident of Balmain, I am hugely supportive of this modification. Avoiding the need for Yurulbin Point construction support site, for the temporary closure of Birchgrove Wharf, and the need for two harbour cofferdams has significant improvements in biodiversity, social, transport and land use impacts. For local residents to be able to continue using Yurulbin Point and the ferry wharf throughout construction of the project is a notable improvement to the approved project. Using a TMB rather than IMT, and therefore avoiding the management of contaminated dredged material (a high-risk component of the approved project), both in the water and on land at WHT3 site (where there would be localised noise and odour issues) is a significant improvement to the approved construction methodology. This is a fantastic example of the tender process being able to deliver a better outcome for locally affected residents and also for the harbour environment, by reducing many environmental impacts of the approved project.

The Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade Modification Report


I object to the Report’s failure to discontinue construction and remove any preparatory structures for the Northern Beaches link.

I object the failure to place any of the support buildings underground and provide additional green space on site to compensate in part for the destruction of Cammeray Park and loss of Open Space to the community.

I object to the failure to provide filtration of the stacks and urge that vehicle emission standards used overseas be applied to this project. There must be a plan for responsible monitoring of air quality emitted by the tunnels and at the predicted failed intersections on local roads.

I object to the increase in pollution generated by this project and the destruction of trees and habitat at Cammeray Park, a doubly negative outcome.

I object to the failure to provide a plan and time line for the promised restoration of Parkland.

I object to the use of Artist’s impressions on project documents as they are often misleading.

Dear Department of Planning.
I wish to make a submission regarding Application Number: SSI-8863-Mod-2. I object to the project.
Firstly, let me say that the move to a tunnel drilled under the harbour is a welcome move. Not only does it significantly reduce the adverse environmental impact of construction, but it also has less impact on the ecology of Sydney Harbour.
However, it is possible to make further improvements;
1. The tunnel will now be 20 metres deeper which means that the portals should be 400 metres down the road. Better still, as the Western Harbour Tunnel (WHT) is not accessible to residents in Neutral Bay, Mosman and Cremorne (indeed it is only accessible to those who live near a train station!) the Cammeray portals should be moved to Artarmon to link up to the Lane Cove Tunnel
2. The Beaches-Link project has been put on hold. Building facilities for this project as part of the WHT contract is a waste of public money, especially when there are so many infrastructure needs for NSW.
3. The is no restoration of surplus land at Cammeray Park. After the WHT is finished, the unused BL facilities and the construction carpark will remain, occupying land that should be returned to the community. The land occupied by these facilities should be returned to the North Sydney community and the people of NSW. The government of NSW should be creating extra green space wherever possible.
4. It is quite possible to cut and cover the WHT facilities at Cammeray Park and provide much needed sporting fields for the area. A cut and cover approach has been used at Roselle. The WHT team has said that they only need to be asked for this to be included this in the scope.
I sincerely hope that these ideas are able to be progressed by the WHT project team.

This modification is good news (at least Sydney Harbour is not be dredged at its most contaminated point and two support sites and coffer dams are not needed because of these changes to bore under the Harbour). However there is still so much wrong with the project and so little benefit to those on the lower north shore and to the north shore in general. I object to the assumptions made in the EIS that road traffic will be reduced and that travel times will be faster. This data was made on a formula that I can't work out and the executive summaries actually contradict raw data elsewhere in the EIS. The WHT will create more traffic, a greater reliance on cars, more pollution in the densest school zone in Australia and there is no provision for a dedicated public transport lane. What is extraordinary is that it will cost $7 billion and drops traffic into North Sydney which is already well serviced by the HB and the Harbour tunnel and the soon to be opened metro (that will run under the harbour only metres away from the WHT). It is double up infrastructure. Also of note is that the EIS was written before the introduction of the B Line buses and Covid - things have changed and this crossing is not needed, time to move into the future.
The other point of note is that 3 harbour crossings will all run through the Warringah Freeway.
Other points I'd like to include to this objection include:
- no improvements to the Cammeray/North Sydney end of the tunnel, unlike those proposed in the Rozelle area - a 10ha park!
- increased air pollution at the Cammeray unfiltered stack (due to change of gradient)
- far more construction activities at Ridge St, loss of parking and increased construction traffic movement
- slight change of alignment so homes not impacted previously will now be impacted
- massive underground bunkers at Birchgrove and Waverton will be the entry/exit point of the heavy machinery
- more electricity will be used (but less diesel)
- missed opportunity to improve the project and green space needs in our largest school zone around Cammeray and NS central
What’s positive
- listened to community outcry and have designed the project to go under rather than through Sydney Harbour
- the park at Waverton might be able to be delivered earlier
- remaining heritage boat at Waverton doesn’t have to be moved
What’s unclear
- the route construction vehicles will travel
- drawdown impacts and impacts to heritage including Aboriginal - documents state no change however the vibration and tunnelling changes are noted
- the cumulative rather than incremental air quality impact of the project with the modification. The project should be assessed on the overall resulting air quality. We should not accept any increase above WHO criteria.

In summary, this modification only resolves a portion of the concerns submitted around this project at the cost of impacting our business centre and school/ sports precincts more heavily. This is a missed opportunity to address community consultation feedback and the result will place even more pressure on children and communities.

The Fossil Club of Australia would appreciate access to shale dug from the construction sites to find fossils.

Shale bed in the Sydney basin shave led to discoveries including ancient amphibians and early shark species as well as molluscs and fish.

The fossils of significance will be offered to the collections of the Australian Museum.

Without this work, significant fossil evidence will be destroyed and remain unknown to current and future generations.

Members of the club are insured for fossicking activities. Several members have White Cards.

I would hope this proposal be considered as a part of the non-financial development contribution for this project.

Kind Regards

Nyrie Palmer
0492221032

I object to the project as is currently proposed because there is no full or part undergrounding of the permanent buildings or a larger green bridge as a roof over the wider section of Freeway between Cammeray Park and Anzac Park. Measures like these would return some of the land removed during construction and provide more space for the 2 for 1 tree planting,
Filtration of the tunnel exhaust remove /reduce fine particulates (PM2.5) and noxious gases is not included. This will increase background air pollution (as is does in similar works in France, Italy, Japan, Spain and Norway where there are similar long road tunnels.
I object particularly to removing the Ernest St on and off ramp access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel. That access prevents increased congestion on local roads and Military Road in particular which is already heavily congested.

This submission is written on behalf of CathWest Innovation College and Penola Catholic College Emu Plains.

This submission refers specifically to the construction support site located at the Boral site, Railway Street, Emu Plains. Areas of concern include as follows.

Noise - This concern is related to the impact of plant operations during school operating hours of approximately 8am - 4pm Monday to Friday.

Dust - This concern is related to the impact of dust and or air pollution created by the construction support site manufacturing and heavy vehicle or plant movements specifically during but not limited to school operating hours. Penola and CathWest (previously McCarthy Catholic College) have experienced consistently high levels of air pollution, including dust storms from loose debris generated from the nearby quarry in years past. High wind weather specifically continues to be a challenge in and around the local area of Penola and CathWest in relation to dust and air pollution. In at least one instance, staff and students were encouraged to wear dust masks and the EPA was called to the school site for inspection.

Traffic - This concern is related to the impact of traffic upon drop off and pick up or school start and finish times. This includes, parent traffic, school bus traffic, school staff traffic and school students with licences traffic. At present, school start and finish times provide a significant challenge to current road infrastructure in the area even with the newly upgraded roundabout at the intersections of Old Bathurst Road and Smith Street, Emu Plains. Another area of traffic concern, specifically at school start and finish times is the intersections of Lee/Mackellar Street and Railway Street and heavy vehicle movements exiting the Boral site from Railway Street. Student pedestrian safety and that of inexperienced student drivers is also of high priority in the aforementioned areas.
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Regards

During this submission as with previous submissions - not enough allowance has been made for workers parking. During the EIS phase for the tunnel and warringah freeway upgrade, the project stated that enough allowance for workers to park ONSITE would be made available. This has not been the case during the first 6 months of the project during the pre-construction phase. There is currently no available parking on our residential streets between the hours of 6am - 6pm Monday to Friday. When we enquired with the Stakeholder and Engagement Team, there is minimal off street parking available for the construction workers - our estimates are that there are only about 20 car spaces provided in the Cammeray region off Bellevue and Morden Streets. This has the impact that between 50-80 cars and usually large utes are being parked on residential streets EVERY DAY and sometimes including weekends. As residents, we are putting up with the impact of construction noise and dust - and now we also are not able to legally park during the day - not allowing for visitors, trades or even emergency vehicles to attend to our homes. For the most park, the workers do not car share, and rangers are constantly being called as their parking is often illegal and doesn't allow us to leave our homes safely. They are loud when they arrive, with loud music, speaking and waking up our households at 6am. Rubbish is often left behind. When the tunnel workers (and the real work begins) do start to arrive for the next 6 years - where will they be parking?? Why is there no provision for them to park on the construction site as promised?

The WHT is the result of an inappropriate change to the North Western Motorway (NWM) which has been under construction for 70 years. Its route is from the Sydney CBD to Hornsby where it becomes the Pacific Motorway. With current works, it extends from the Sydney CBD to Iron Cove, the Gladesville Bridge-Hunters Hill Section, then the M2 at North Ryde-Macquarie Park, then the Pacific Motorway. Missing is the Drummoyne, Lane Cove, and Turramurra-Normanhurst sections.
To idiotically 'favour' former Premier Baird's Manly electorate, the maximum mainline grade was reduced from the international 6% standard to 4% - less than the 4.4% max adopted for the Sydney Metro - NSW is the only place in the world with this grade inversion excluding cog railways and some trams. How this decision was made needs ICAC review. This meant that the Gladeville Bridge (6%) was ruled out for further motorway use. The Gladesville Bridge is designed to support 8 traffic lanes - pedestrian-cycle paths can hang off the edge with the current heritage railing recycled. The Gladesville Bridge needs an environmental upgrade. If more than 8 lanes are needed, a 3 lane tunnel can be built from Victoria Rd at Gladesville to Drummoyne citybound.
The pretext for the grade change was greater diesel truck polution on steeper grades, but diesel truck polution is a function of speed, distance and altitude change - grade contribution is negligible.
The WHT is wrong, in part, because the LCT has just 4 through lanes - 18 cross-harbour lanes reduce to 4 LCT lanes in 5 km.
The WHT must be stopped, and the NWM continued with new bridges across Iron Cove, Figtree Bridge replacement, and another bridge across the Lane Cove River to link with the M2 at north Ryde. There will be tunnels under Drummoyne and Lane Cove. Under Lane Cove, the NWM has a branch to the GHF at Artarmon.
A key benefit of the artarmon branch is counterflow traffic from WestConnex to the GHF.
The current excavation in the Cammeray Golf Course can be used for Beaches Link which would join the Warringah Freeway in both directions at Cammeray - the original WF stage 2 plan. The BL will be a cut and cover tunnel from WF to Cammeray Rd, where it goes deep underground under Cammeray (6% grade), and is cut and cover under Tunks Park - from there it uses the rest of the BL route.
There are tunnel ventilation facilities in the Artarmon and Lane Cove industrial areas whch can also be used for the NWM tunnels.
Thus, the original plan is better and the WHT must stop despite the work done to date. The unneeded Rozelle tunnels can be used for mushroom farms and other uses.
Electric vehicles should be given toll reductions in tunnels to reduce air pollution and daily ventilation demand. Full ventiliation is only needed during/after vehicle fires in tunnels.

I object to the design of the Western Harbour Tunnel for the following reasons:

1. the massive (and currently deemed) permanent buildings on the Cammeray Golf Course site adjacent to the Warringah Freeway must be totally underground or at the very least mostly underground to improve the look and amenity of the area.
2. The massive loss of green space in the municipality because of this project. Serious consideration should be given to building a "green bridge" over the freeway as compensation, and to ensure the ability to provide 2 for 1 replacement of trees..
3. The unfiltered Exhaust stack. This must be filtered to remove /reduce fine particulates (PM2.5) and noxious gases which will increase background air pollution (as is done in France, Italy, Japan, Spain with such long road tunnels (over 5km long with only end stack ventilation) if diesel vehicles are allowed to use it. The safety of nearby residents and in particular the school children at Anzac Public School require it.
4. Ernest St on and off ramp access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel must be preserved to prevent increased congestion on local roads and easy access to the tunnel and bridge.

I object to the design of the WHT as it omits to provide :
1. The current northbound and southbound connectivity at Ernest Street to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
Removal of the current ramp at Ernest St will significantly increase the risk for vehicles and pedestrians in this area due to significant increases in local traffic. Myself and other local residents will be required to travel along Ben Boyd Rd, turn right at the intersection of Military Rd to access the Harbour Bridge from Falcon Street. This is already a very busy intersection. The alternative option is to travel along Ernest Street and turn left into small residential streets/ lane ways in Cammeray to access the Falcon Street entry ramp. This area is already congested and will be considerably more congested with the traffic going to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. In the evening the exit at Falcon St will also require me to exit and negotiate additional traffic to return to my local area.

2. Filtration for the exhaust from the ventilation stacks.
I request that air filters (or the equivalent) that meet international best practice standards must be a mandatory requirement for this project to ensure the safety of our community of local residents from the adverse health effects associated with the increased air pollution from this project.
My concern is that there will be a negative impact on my health and that of other local residents as a result the air pollution from the tunnel into our surrounding local area
Air pollution from the cars in the tunnel will be concentrated at the portals and therefore a much higher concentration in a small area compared with the current levels of air pollution distributed along the roads.

3. Undergrounding fully or partly the permanent buildings or larger green bridge as a roof over wider section of Freeway between Cammeray Park and Anzac Park to return some of the land removed and provide more space for the 2 for 1 tree planting.

I object to the design of WHT as it omits to provide the following:
1. The undergrounding of the permanent buildings and the provision of a large green bridge as a roof over wider section of Freeway between Cammeray Park and Anzac Park to return some of the land removed and provide more space for the 2 for 1 tree planting,
2. The filtration of the tunnel exhaust before being expelled from the ventilation stack, to remove /reduce fine particulates (PM2.5) and noxious gases which will increase background air pollution (as is done in many other parts of the world).
3. Maintaining the Ernest St on and off ramp access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel to prevent increased congestion on local roads and especially Military Road.

See attached

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