Australia’s leading engineering body has lashed out at the state government over funding plans for the $3 billion NorthConnex project.

Kieran Gair

Hornsby Shire Council has welcomed Premier Barry O’Farrell’s announcement that a $3 billion tunnel will be built between the M1 and M2 motorways, linking Sydney’s north to the National Highway route and removing up to 5,000 trucks from Pennant Hills Road per day.

However, more than 50 residential, commercial and industrial properties will be demolished to make way for the new NorthConnex tunnel while the northern ventilation facility will be built near existing houses on Woonana Avenue and Bareena Avenue in Wahroonga.

A spokesman for Roads Minister Duncan Gay says it is too early to say which properties will be bought or how compensation will be decided.

”While building a tunnel requires less property acquisition than a surface motorway, some property will need to be acquired for this project,” he says.

”The project team is committed to working closely with those affected to allow the necessary acquisition to be progressed ahead of work starting in 2015.”

The much anticipated project carries a total budget of $2.65 billion and will be funded through a joint contribution of up to $810 million from the federal and NSW state governments. However, the majority of the cost will be funded through toll charges.

The motorway will directly connect northern Sydney to western and southern roads, linking the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga to the Hills M2 Motorway at West Pennant Hills.

While government representatives have started to notify property owners their land is needed to build the nine-kilometre NorthConnex tunnel, Hornsby Mayor, Steve Russell, believes the motorway will significantly ease congestion and give back local roads to the local community.

“This is great news. Council has campaigned for this for a long time and we’re thrilled that it’s happening. This is going to give Pennant Hills Road back to the local community,” Russell says.

“No longer will residents of Hornsby Shire have to carry the burden of vehicles, particularly trucks, clogging our roads.”

The twin motorway tunnels are expected to improve opportunities for public transport and motorists will be able to avoid 40 sets of traffic lights on the Pacific Highway to the CBD.
However, in a recent Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET) survey, 93 per cent of private and public sector engineers said they believed that governments of all types lack essential engineering capacity to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Director of Professional Engineers Australia, Paul Davies, warns the Road and Maritime Service (RMS) is underfunded and unprepared to oversee the NorthConnex project.
“Engineers are very concerned that successive government cuts mean that RMS no longer has sufficient in-house engineering expertise to ensure the government and taxpayers get value for money when it comes to large road projects,” Davies says.

“Worse still, it will be the taxpayer that will pick up the bill when projects are scoped badly, experience cost blow outs, become delayed due to variations and waste escalates through lengthy disputes with contractors.”

While the NorthConnex will shave 15 minutes from travel time, remove 5,000 trucks from Pennant Hills Road and help improve air quality, a Senate inquiry into the shortage of engineering skills in Australia in 2012 revealed 26 per cent of projects costing over $1 billion end up running more than $200 million over budget.

Davies believes successive government cuts had been “penny wise but pound stupid.”

“When you consider the $3 billion NorthConnex Motorway project, insufficient engineering capacity at RMS could equate to taxpayers’ facing a $600 million bill, when the reality is that we can’t afford to waste a single dollar,” Davies says.

“If Prime Minister Abbott and Premier O’Farrell want to be recognised for their delivery of infrastructure, they need to get serious about building in-house engineering capacity, RMS is a pivotal place to start.”

However, Russell believes the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

“The benefits are countless: our roads will be safer, our neighbourhoods will be quieter and our air will be cleaner,” Russell says.

“I’d like to thank the State Government for taking this action that will bring tremendous benefits to Hornsby Shire.”

Construction on the NorthConnex motorway is due to start in early 2015.

http://www.northconnex.com.au/