Cross City Tunnel
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The Cross City Tunnel is a twin- road tunnel
tollway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and mainten ...
located in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia. The tunnel links
Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
on the western fringe of the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
to
Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb of Rushcutters Ba ...
in the Eastern Suburbs. Each of the twin tunnels has a different alignment, with the westbound tunnel running underneath
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and
Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
streets and the eastbound tunnel running underneath Bathurst Street. The tunnel is owned by the
Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
and is operated by
Transurban Transurban is an Australian, multinational road operations company and one of the world's largest toll road operators. Transurban, either independently or through financial consortiums, manage and develops urban toll road networks across Austr ...
under a toll concession until 2035. In early 2002, a year before construction began, transport planner Michelle Zeibots was quoted in local newspapers saying the tunnel would not reach its traffic targets.


Design

The tunnel comprises two road tunnels – one eastbound and one westbound – each with two traffic lanes, in addition to a third small ventilation tunnel. The Cross City Tunnel also links with the
Eastern Distributor The Eastern Distributor is a motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and the Sydney Orbital Network, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with the south-east and Sydney Airport. The Eastern Distribut ...
, enabling vehicles travelling from the West to travel to the
Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
and Southern Suburbs. From the Eastern Distributor, northbound motorists can connect to the Cross City Tunnel Westbound, avoiding the CBD once again. The tunnel was Sydney's first completely electronic tollway requiring the driver to have an electronic tolling tag installed in their car or register for an electronic pass (for casual or less frequent users).


History

Sydney's Cross City Tunnel was predicted to fail before construction even began. In February 2002, a year before tunnelling commenced and four years before it ultimately fell into receivership due to low traffic volumes, Sydney traffic planner Michelle Zeibots told local media that the tunnel was incapable of carrying the volume of cars that the Transport Minister, Carl Scully had predicted. She said it was "physically impossible" for the tunnel to carry the predicted 95,000 cars each day. While the
NRMA The NRMA (trading name of National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel, and ...
was enthusiastic about building the new motorway, Dr Zeibots was scathing. "It's not a serious transport project," she said at the time. "The inputs and outputs just don't add up." Despite the warnings of a traffic shortfall, in 2002, the government of
Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...
awarded Cross City Motorways the contract to build, own and operate an east–west tunnel underneath the Sydney CBD. The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, the
Roads & Traffic Authority The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an Statutory authority, agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state ...
declared the Cross City Tunnel as Tollway 6010, from its interchange with Western Distributor in
Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
to
Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb of Rushcutters Ba ...
, on 16 December 2002, nearly three years before it had officially opened; the tollway still retains this declaration today. Construction work for the Cross City Tunnel commenced in January 2003, and the tunnel was originally scheduled to open in October 2005. In April 2005 the NSW government announced that the tunnel would open four months early on 12 June 2005. The opening day was subsequently postponed due to detailed commissioning works, with the official opening going ahead on 28 August 2005. The tunnel was opened by the
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
, Morris Iemma, using the same pair of scissors used to open the
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in 1992 and the
Anzac Bridge The Anzac Bridge is an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge that carries the Western Distributor (A4) across Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Glebe Island (part of the suburb of Rozelle), on the western fringe of the Sydney central business dis ...
in 1995. Prior to the vehicular opening there was a charity walk-through, as is customary for new roadways in Sydney, which attracted a large number of public visitors. The first traffic passed through the tunnel late on 28 August. Later a three-week toll-free period was announced by the operators. At the same time, the operators announced a freeze on toll increases for twelve months and the fee for casual (non-electronic tag) users was waived. In February 2006, media speculation of a "buy-out" by the New South Wales government began. The rumoured price would exceed AUD$1 billion while the tunnel only cost AUD$680 million to build. The government stated no discussions had taken place, and the Cross City Tunnel Consortium stated that they were not considering selling the tunnel and were "in for the long haul". At the time the average trips per day was approximately 30,000. This was shortly followed by a report from the NSW Upper House committee headed by MP
Fred Nile Frederick John Nile (born 15 September 1934) is an Australian former politician and Ordination, ordained Minister (Christianity), Christian minister. Nile was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1981-2023, except for a perio ...
recommending that the toll be reduced, and surface road closures reversed. While the recommendations could not be enforced, the Cross City Tunnel Consortium did consult with the government before announcing a discount to the toll, as well as other changes on 3 March 2006. Specifically, the Consortium announced that the toll would be halved to $1.78 for three months, that some planned road closures would not be pursued, and that some existing road closures would be reversed. Two days prior to the end of the half-price toll period, the Premier of NSW, Morris Iemma, ended negotiations with the Cross City Tunnel Consortium without an agreement, announcing the immediate reversal of some road closures, contrary to the contract. In April 2006, a Reclaim The Streets protest was held at the Cross City Tunnel. Attendees called for greater investment in public transport and cycle paths, with partygoers occupying the tarmac and enjoying performances by the ShittyRail Transit Cop dance troupe. In November 2006, it was reported that the motorway was in financial difficulties, and that additional equity would be required from the tunnel's investors in order to avoid placing the tunnel in administration. At the same time, it was suggested that traffic volumes of between 60,000 and 90,000 per day were needed in order for the consortium to meet the tunnel interest payments. The NSW government responded to the reports by indicating that it would not buy out the tunnel, nor assist in its financing.


Financing and ownership

The A$680 million tunnel was originally financed by a combination of international equity and both locally and internationally sourced debt. Equity of $220 million was provided by three international companies, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (50%), DB Capital Partners (30%) and Bilfinger Berger (20%). The remaining $580 million was financed through a syndicate of Australian and international banks led by
Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
and
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
. It was built by a Baulderstone Hornibrook / Bilfinger Berger joint venture. In December 2006, the tollway became insolvent due to low traffic volumes, accumulating debts of over A$500 million. On 27 December 2006, a syndicate of 16 Australian and International banks appointed the insolvency firm KordaMentha as receivers and managers for Cross City Motorway Limited after the project accrued debts exceeding A$560 million. On 20 June 2007, ABN AMRO (94%) and Leighton Contractors (6%) were chosen as preferred purchasers of the Cross City Tunnel Group for $700 million.
On 13 September 2013, the new owners placed itself in voluntary administration, saying that it was unable to refinance its debt due to action by the New South Wales government to claim $64 million in stamp duty on the original sale. In June 2014, the tunnel was sold to
Transurban Transurban is an Australian, multinational road operations company and one of the world's largest toll road operators. Transurban, either independently or through financial consortiums, manage and develops urban toll road networks across Austr ...
.


Usage

There has been some controversy over the expected and actual usage of the tunnel during its initial operation. The number of vehicles travelling through the tunnel has been debated in the media, along with alleged discrepancies between the actual number of trips and the anticipated number of trips in the tunnel's financial projections. Tunnel operators indicated that they expected initial uptake of the tunnel to reach approximately 35,000 vehicles per day, increasing over its first year of operation to a projected 90,000 vehicles per day. Once documentation of the official projections was released, it was found that the operators projected daily traffic after six months at 85,352. Approximately one month after opening it was reported in the media that only 20,000 vehicles a day were using the tunnel, although the government and toll operators maintained that the average number of daily trips since opening was approximately 25,000. At the completion of the initial three-week toll-free period, the tunnel operators announced that the daily tunnel usage had increased to 53,000 during that time. A few weeks after the toll had been reinstated, it was reported in the media that usage had dropped back to approximately 27,000, an improvement of 7,000 cars per day compared with usage prior to the toll free period. Following the toll-free period, the tunnel operator indicated that it would likely be two to three years before the tunnel reached its full potential. In May 2006, in the first two months after the tunnel operators announced a temporary halving of the toll, media reports indicated that usage had increased to approximately 34,000 per day.


Tolls

The tunnel is tolled for its entire length, with a lower charge when exiting westbound to Sir John Young Crescent northbound. Truck and heavy vehicle prices are double the price for cars.


Exits and Interchanges

The Cross City Tunnel is entirely contained within the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
.


Criticisms

There are a number of criticisms that have been made about the Cross City Tunnel (CCT), more so than for similar large capital works programs in Sydney, including the following: * Disruption to traffic in the CBD not using the tunnel: The CCT attracted significant media attention, as many of the diversions put in place on the streets above caused increased traffic congestion and motorist confusion. Some resentment regarding surface road changes was expressed in the media. The disruption that generated the most complaints was the reduction of William Street to one general lane, and one bus lane in each direction, that exacerbated traffic flow. The bus lanes were converted to T2 transit lanes. On 6 December 2005 the head of the CCT said under oath that the company would not seek compensation if some of the controversial road changes were undone; but on 7 December that decision was reversed. * Undisclosed contract conditions: It is generally thought that the NSW Government agreed to the lane reductions in William Street as part of the negotiations for the CCT contract. However, the government repeatedly refused to publicly table the contract, much to the dismay of the media and the NSW Auditor-General. A summary of the CCT contract was released, that contained details of additional possible road disruptions, with resultant increased traffic congestion for motorists not using the CCT. It was also revealed that 50 cents of the toll price is due to a $105 million payment that the operators had to make to the NSW Government for permission to build the tunnel. In late October 2005 after ongoing criticism, some contract terms were released to the public, but the government refused to release 3,000 pages of material. A few days after this, the head of the
Roads & Traffic Authority The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an Statutory authority, agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state ...
was dismissed for failing to disclose an amendment to the contract, which allowed the toll to be increased by 15 cents. In November 2005, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was asked to investigate allegations that sensitive Cabinet documents were leaked to the CCT operator during negotiations. The ICAC found that the allegation was unsubstantiated. * Misleading signage: There were complaints in the media after the opening of the CCT about deceptive signage indicating the tunnel was the only route from Sydney eastern suburbs to cross Sydney Harbour (in particular, via the Sydney Harbour Tunnel). In response, the
NRMA The NRMA (trading name of National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel, and ...
motoring group published a route outlining how to reach the harbour crossings while avoiding the CCT. * Toll applies in both directions: the toll for the CCT is charged in both directions, unlike other toll roads near the city centre, such as the
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, and the
Eastern Distributor The Eastern Distributor is a motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and the Sydney Orbital Network, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with the south-east and Sydney Airport. The Eastern Distribut ...
, all of which only charge for travel in one direction. * Price of the toll: The initial price of the toll for a one-way trip was $6.62 and $3.12 with a tag when exiting on Sir John Young Crescent/Eastern Distributor, and $5.35 without. Some would say this is a high price for a short journey when a slightly slower but free alternative is available. Joe Tripodi, at the time Minister for Roads, pressured the CCT operators to reduce the toll, but admitted he cannot force them to do this. The CCT operators had previously ruled out a toll reduction. Additionally, the price of the toll is automatically increased by the CPI each quarter, whereas other tolls are usually increased less frequently, but in neat increments of 50 cents. * No cash payment, and higher price for drivers without an E-Tag: The CCT was the first cashless motorway in Sydney. Drivers who did not have an E-Tag and who used the tunnel had to phone the CCT operators or go the CCT website after their journey, and pay the toll, plus an additional $2.50 administration fee. Those who didn't do this received two warning letters, then a $130 fine. All other tolled roads/bridges in Sydney have subsequently adopted this model of operation. * Concerns about exhaust fumes from the tunnel: After opening, the CCT proved to be quite poorly ventilated for the expected number of vehicles, and even for the much lower number of vehicles using it. Currently air is released from the CCT via the single ventilation stack located between the existing Western Distributor viaducts above the eastern side of
Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
. There is general unease in Sydney about exhaust stacks from any motorway, after reports in the media about people living near motorway exhaust stacks experiencing health problems. However, since the opening of the CCT there was almost no discussion of this topic, with most of the focus directed towards the issues listed above, together with general concerns regarding
Public Private Partnerships In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
(or PPPs). One of the tunnel's major shortcomings is the fact that traffic is forced straight onto suburban roads at both ends, creating additional traffic congestion at these locations. This is likely to be rectified at the Western end when construction of the M4 East Tunnels and the Rozelle Interchange are completed in 2023. In September 2005, as part of the media attention surrounding these criticisms, a local newspaper commissioned an audit of the usage of the tollway by independent surveyors who found that on a single day, around 21,000 vehicles had used the tunnel. This was countered by a spokesman for the tunnel operator, who said about 550,000 vehicles had used the tunnel in its initial operation, at an average of approximately 25,000 cars per day. In October 2005, a call centre handling calls related to the Cross City Tunnel halved its staff due to the low number of calls. In September 2006 the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'' reported that the operator had not pursued for 12 months motorists who had not paid the toll (along with the
M2 Hills Motorway M2 Hills Motorway is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network and the National Highway west of Pennant Hills Road. Owned by toll road operator Transurban, it forms majority of Sydney's ...
) due to a lack of agreement on a system for passing of the details to the RTA. The Cross City Motorway subsequently promised that toll evaders will be pursued.


See also

* Freeways in Australia * Freeways in Sydney


References


External links


Official tunnel website
* * *

focus on Cross City Tunnel {{Road infrastructure in Sydney Tunnels in Sydney Toll tunnels in Australia Transport in Sydney Public–private partnership projects in Australia Tunnels completed in 2005