ATS: Tunnelling Under Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House Vehicle Access and Pedestrian Safety (SOH VAPS) project is a $110 million project being completed by the Sydney Opera House Trust. The main goal of the project is to remove service vehicles from the forecourt of the entertainment precinct which receives close to 10 million visitors each year. It involves the construction of an underground loading facility connecting the operational areas of the building directly to the entry of the precinct at the end of Macquarie St. The project is using a number of tunnelling methods to excavate the required space to construct the loading dock facilities.
Work includes:
- Total 100m mined tunnel excavation using road headers,
- Bulk excavation of 28,000 BCM using road headers,
- Construction of egress passages, and
- Demolition & temporary support under building loads.
The majority of the project is constructed within Hawkesbury Sandstone, with distinct areas of localised features requiring ground treatment to control inflow of water from the adjoining harbour.
About the speaker
Ben Clarke Design Manager, John Holland
Ben Clarke is the John Holland Design Manager on the Sydney Opera House Vehicle Access and Pedestrian Safety project. He has responsibility for planning and design of all temporary works and coordination of significant design issues that interface with the existing structure and the permanent works. Before transferring to VAPS he worked on Northern Sewerage Project and the Eastlink tunnels in Melbourne.
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