North-South Bypass Tunnel, Brisbane
Encyclopedia
The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), known during its development as the North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT), is a A$
3.2 billion toll road
built under the Brisbane River
, which crosses between the suburbs of Woolloongabba
and Bowen Hills
in Brisbane
, Australia
. The CLEM7 Community Open Day, a public open day which included a tunnel run and walk was held on 28 February 2010. The tunnel was progressively opened to traffic from late on 15 March 2010 until just after midnight on the 16. It was completely open - all lanes, both directions - by 12.02 am.
The tunnel was originally proposed by then Labor Lord Mayor Jim Soorley
in 2001, and was incorporated into the Liberal Party candidate Campbell Newman
's five tunnel vision, called TransApex
in 2002. In December 2007, Brisbane City Council decided to name the tunnel the Clem Jones
Tunnel in honour of the former lord mayor. On 16 July 2008, the Government of Queensland
announced that the tunnel "heralds Queensland’s newest motorway - the M7". The M7 motorway will also include the Airport Link
tunnel.
The project is Brisbane’s first privately financed inner city toll road. The road is the city's largest road infrastructure
project and one of Queensland
's largest infrastructure projects. With tunnel length of 4.8 km (3 mi) it is the longest road tunnel in the country until the planned 6.7 km (4.2 mi) Airport Link tunnel is complete.
Construction bids were provided by a tender process in which RiverCity Motorway
was selected over the Brisconnections consortium. The project commenced in September 2006, with tunneling using two very large boring machines completing digging by May 2009. The tunnel is tolled via an electronic tolling system. The tunnel design includes extensive safety systems, a traffic control centre and speed cameras. The price of the toll has been criticised as too expensive and the ventilation stacks as too intrusive.
Patronage of the tunnel decreased by more than 65% in the week following the introduction of a reduced toll period, and remains considerably lower than the predicted traffic volumes. Despite being completed on-time and on-budget, the Tunnel has been an economic failure due to incorrect predictions of traffic volume. RiverCity Motorway
has been unable to collect enough tolls to pay the interest on its $1.3 billion debt and went into receivership. With no hope of profit, and therefore no dividend, RiverCity Motorways shares are now worthless, costing investors millions.
in the rapidly growing city, especially in Brisbane's congested central business district
and Fortitude Valley. The major benefit of the 6.8 km (4.2 mi) toll road
is that it bypasses 24 existing sets of traffic light
s, potentially saving 15 minutes of travel time and provide an additional Brisbane River
crossing. The concrete road includes 4.8 km (3 mi) of tunnel
and 18 bridges. The Clem7 provides two lanes of traffic in each direction via parallel tubes. There are 41 cross-passages that are spaced every 120 metres (393.7 ft) along the entire length of the tunnel which can be used in emergency situations. Access to the tunnel from the southern end is via Shaftson Avenue, Ipswich Road and the Pacific Motorway
. Northern connections include Lutwyche Road, the Inner City Bypass
and the Airport Link
tunnel which is now under construction.
The design includes a smoke reduction ceiling
to rapidly draw out smoke in case of a fire or explosion. The ventilation system incorporates 100 jet fans. The tunnel has a standard speed limit of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) and contains 165 emergency phones. The Clem 7 is equipped with eight speed cameras. These comprise Queensland's highest concentration of fixed speed detection devices and have been justified as a way of reducing the potential for disastrous high speed tunnel crashes. A traffic control centre staffed by 50 personnel continually monitors the tunnel using 250 cameras.
Steel and aluminium sculpture
s at the tunnel entrances act as a transitional light filter. They were designed by architect John Ilett who also designed the colourful exhaust fume stacks. The red and purple stacks were inspired by the colours of the jacaranda
and poinciana trees. Included in the project's design are a series of urban enhancements such as parklands and road widening in adjacent suburbs.
Limited, was announced by Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman on 27 April 2006, beating a bid by the Brisconnections consortium. Contracts for the design and construction of the tunnel were given to Leighton Contractors and Baulderstone
/Bilfinger Berger
Joint Venture. Transurban
declined to place a tender because of risk-return
factors.
The losing bid by the Brisconnections consortium incorporated three lanes of traffic in each direction (as opposed to two lanes for the winning bid). With a price difference of A$20 million the decision to build a two-lane tunnel was criticised in some circles as short-sighted. Brisconnections did win the tender for the Airport Link with a similarly aggressive bid that requires almost double the traffic anticipated by government for the project to be successful.
One of the reasons for building the tunnel as a public-private partnership
was that it should reduce Brisbane City Council's risks regarding the tunnel construction and operation. However, the public disclosure documents released by Rivercity Motorway indicate that there are still considerable uncosted risks left with Council. For example, a 10 m extension was required for the exhaust stack at the Woolloongabba end of the tunnel and the full cost was required to be borne by Brisbane City Council, not Rivercity Motorway.
Construction commenced in September 2006.
At the start of the project it was the longest road tunnel being built in the country. 3.5 million tonnes of excavated rock was removed from the tunnel by conveyor, stored in silo
s and taken away by truck. During a typical weekday period more than 25 trucks per hour have been hauling removed soil and rock along Kingsford Smith Drive
to an area near the Brisbane Airport
.
During construction all 1,700 staff working on the project and all site visitors, who are inside the tunnel, could be located at any time using an RFID tagging system that transmits a person's location wirelessly. The system was designed to monitor site access and asset location as well as to improve safety and efficiency in what is a high profile and potentially hazardous worksite.
Difficult drilling conditions, due to the very hard Brisbane Tuff rock that is found under inner Brisbane, were encountered and overcome. Both purpose-built, double-shield boring
machines began on the northern end, with the first arriving in Brisbane in July 2007 and cutting commencing in December after testing was conducted. At the time, the tunneling machines were the biggest in the world, weighing 4,000 tonnes and each being 250 m (820.2 ft) in length. Each machine cost A$50 million to build. The boring machines of 12.34 m (40.5 ft) diameter each were built by the German firm Herrenknecht
and can dig up to 20 m (65.6 ft) per day. When finished the boring machines will have placed 37,000 precast linings. Smaller roadheader
machines began from the southern end in February 2007.
As of September 2008, TBM 2 (named Florence) had reached Kangaroo Point on the southern side of the Brisbane River whereas TBM 1 (named Matilda), which began in March 2008, was still tunneling under the river. By this time bridges had reached the final construction stages at the Northern Portal and the Morrissey Street bridge in Woolloongabba. In early December 2008, Florence had connected to the eastern entrance tunnels from Shafston Avenue. By April 2009 the tunnel excavation was 85% complete. Florence completed tunnelling work on 16 April 2009, while Matilda completed tunneling work on 26 May 2009.
There was some controversy over the environmental hazards which may be caused by the construction phase and operation of the tunnels. In March 2005, local residents protested construction plans primarily due to the expected air pollution
from exhaust ventilation
stacks. One 43 m (141.1 ft) purple structure was built in Jurgens Street, Woolloongabba, another 36 m (118.1 ft) red stack was constructed in O'Connell Terrace, Bowen Hills.
Toll collection is conducted by both an electronic tolling system using a tag fitted inside vehicles or by taking a photograph of licence plates, avoiding the need for vehicles to slow or stop. The Go via
and FLOW Tolling systems are both utilised. The toll concession period is 45 years.
A toll free period was in operation until 5 April 2010, followed by 5 weeks of reduced tolls. Rivercity Motorway claims the toll is the lowest per kilometre compared with similar tunnels in Australia. An image processing fee of 47 cents is levied on vehicles without an e-tag, starting from 15 September 2010. The tolls are expected to increase on 1 January each year according with Brisbane CPI. These toll rates are as expensive as the Sydney Cross City Tunnel
which is Australia's most expensive toll road.
Brisbane Mayor Cr Newman has been criticised over the tolling regime being inconsistent with his promises during the 2004 election. The promises included a tolling duration of 35 years, a toll of no more than $2.00 and a total cost of $1 billion.
Due to lack of patronage, on 28 June 2010, River City Motorways announced reduced tolls of $2.00 per car from 1 July 2010 until 15 November 2010, hoping to increase traffic.
The traffic estimates produced for Rivercity Motorway by Maunsell include a two year ramp up period from opening at 60,000 to an annual average daily volume of 100,000 vehicles in 2012. No ramp-up has occurred as of March 2011, and the actual volume of traffic (34,075 peak) remains below the minimum opening value estimated by Maunsell. The Maunsell forecast then rises to 110,000 vehicles per day in 2014, and 135,000 in 2026. In contrast, traffic estimates produced as part of the Northern Link Supplementary EIS predict an average weekday traffic volume in the Clem7 tunnel of 70 900 vehicles in 2014, and 92,300 in 2026, if Northern Link is not built (over 30% less than the Maunsell estimates). If Northern Link is built, these estimates for the Clem7 tunnel volumes fall further to 65,900 in 2014 and 82,000 in 2026 (40% less than the Maunsell estimates). In the most recent Rivercity Motorway Financial Report it was noted that "if traffic assumptions over the entire concession period differed to estimates by +/-5% then the value in use would be impacted by +/-$99 million.".
After opening, the tunnel was found to save an average of 8 minutes travel time. During the toll free period, traffic on the Pacific Motorway, Captain Cook Bridge, inner-city bypass, and Story Bridge, decreased by over 10%, while traffic on Lutwyche Road increased by over 20%. However after the toll was implemented, only the story bridge and innercity bypass showed a reduction (of around 5%) in traffic compared to before the tunnel was open.
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
3.2 billion toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
built under the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
, which crosses between the suburbs of Woolloongabba
Woolloongabba, Queensland
Woolloongabba is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 4 km south of the Brisbane CBD.Experts are divided regarding the Aboriginal meaning of the name, preferring either 'whirling waters' or 'fight talk place'...
and Bowen Hills
Bowen Hills, Queensland
Bowen Hills is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 3 km northeast of the Brisbane CBD. It was named after a Governor of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen.-History:...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The CLEM7 Community Open Day, a public open day which included a tunnel run and walk was held on 28 February 2010. The tunnel was progressively opened to traffic from late on 15 March 2010 until just after midnight on the 16. It was completely open - all lanes, both directions - by 12.02 am.
The tunnel was originally proposed by then Labor Lord Mayor Jim Soorley
Jim Soorley
James Gerard Soorley is a former Australian politician. He served as Australian Labor Party Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1991 to 2003. Soorley is a former Roman Catholic Priest and continues to be a strong human rights advocate...
in 2001, and was incorporated into the Liberal Party candidate Campbell Newman
Campbell Newman
Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman is the leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He was the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 2004 to 2011....
's five tunnel vision, called TransApex
TransApex
TransApex is a transport plan devised by the former Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman to connect existing motorways and major arterial roads with new transport links and divert cross-city traffic out of the Brisbane CBD. The plan is currently being delivered by Brisbane City Council at an...
in 2002. In December 2007, Brisbane City Council decided to name the tunnel the Clem Jones
Clem Jones
Clem Jones AO a surveyor by profession, was the longest serving Lord Mayor of the city of Brisbane, Australia, representing the Australian Labor Party from 1961 to 1975.-Public life:...
Tunnel in honour of the former lord mayor. On 16 July 2008, the Government of Queensland
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
announced that the tunnel "heralds Queensland’s newest motorway - the M7". The M7 motorway will also include the Airport Link
Airport Link, Brisbane
The Airport Link is a tunnelled motorway grade road which is under construction in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It will connect the Brisbane central business district and the Clem Jones Tunnel to the East-West Arterial Road which leads to the Brisbane Airport...
tunnel.
The project is Brisbane’s first privately financed inner city toll road. The road is the city's largest road infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
project and one of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's largest infrastructure projects. With tunnel length of 4.8 km (3 mi) it is the longest road tunnel in the country until the planned 6.7 km (4.2 mi) Airport Link tunnel is complete.
Construction bids were provided by a tender process in which RiverCity Motorway
RiverCity Motorway
RiverCity Motorway Group is a Queensland company that operates Brisbane’s first private tollway—the Clem Jones Tunnel . They also established FLOW Tolling, a tolling service provider. Rivercity Motorways Group won the rights to be the maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel...
was selected over the Brisconnections consortium. The project commenced in September 2006, with tunneling using two very large boring machines completing digging by May 2009. The tunnel is tolled via an electronic tolling system. The tunnel design includes extensive safety systems, a traffic control centre and speed cameras. The price of the toll has been criticised as too expensive and the ventilation stacks as too intrusive.
Patronage of the tunnel decreased by more than 65% in the week following the introduction of a reduced toll period, and remains considerably lower than the predicted traffic volumes. Despite being completed on-time and on-budget, the Tunnel has been an economic failure due to incorrect predictions of traffic volume. RiverCity Motorway
RiverCity Motorway
RiverCity Motorway Group is a Queensland company that operates Brisbane’s first private tollway—the Clem Jones Tunnel . They also established FLOW Tolling, a tolling service provider. Rivercity Motorways Group won the rights to be the maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel...
has been unable to collect enough tolls to pay the interest on its $1.3 billion debt and went into receivership. With no hope of profit, and therefore no dividend, RiverCity Motorways shares are now worthless, costing investors millions.
Design
The motorway is designed to alleviate traffic congestionTraffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
in the rapidly growing city, especially in Brisbane's congested central business district
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
and Fortitude Valley. The major benefit of the 6.8 km (4.2 mi) toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
is that it bypasses 24 existing sets of traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
s, potentially saving 15 minutes of travel time and provide an additional Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
crossing. The concrete road includes 4.8 km (3 mi) of tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
and 18 bridges. The Clem7 provides two lanes of traffic in each direction via parallel tubes. There are 41 cross-passages that are spaced every 120 metres (393.7 ft) along the entire length of the tunnel which can be used in emergency situations. Access to the tunnel from the southern end is via Shaftson Avenue, Ipswich Road and the Pacific Motorway
Pacific Motorway
The Pacific Motorway is a 100 km long motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and the New South Wales-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. The motorway starts at Coronation Drive at Milton in Brisbane, and from 2008 links the Tweed Heads bypass in New South Wales...
. Northern connections include Lutwyche Road, the Inner City Bypass
Inner City Bypass
M3 Inner City Bypass is a major motorway standard road in Brisbane, Australia. The 4.5km bypass is north of the city. Bypassing the Brisbane central business district, it connects Brisbane’s Pacific Motorway and Go Between Bridge at Hale Street to Kingsford Smith Drive, the Clem Jones Tunnel and...
and the Airport Link
Airport Link, Brisbane
The Airport Link is a tunnelled motorway grade road which is under construction in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It will connect the Brisbane central business district and the Clem Jones Tunnel to the East-West Arterial Road which leads to the Brisbane Airport...
tunnel which is now under construction.
Ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above....
to rapidly draw out smoke in case of a fire or explosion. The ventilation system incorporates 100 jet fans. The tunnel has a standard speed limit of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) and contains 165 emergency phones. The Clem 7 is equipped with eight speed cameras. These comprise Queensland's highest concentration of fixed speed detection devices and have been justified as a way of reducing the potential for disastrous high speed tunnel crashes. A traffic control centre staffed by 50 personnel continually monitors the tunnel using 250 cameras.
Steel and aluminium sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s at the tunnel entrances act as a transitional light filter. They were designed by architect John Ilett who also designed the colourful exhaust fume stacks. The red and purple stacks were inspired by the colours of the jacaranda
Jacaranda
Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is also found in Asia, especially in Nepal...
and poinciana trees. Included in the project's design are a series of urban enhancements such as parklands and road widening in adjacent suburbs.
Tender process
The successful tenderer, Rivercity MotorwayRiverCity Motorway
RiverCity Motorway Group is a Queensland company that operates Brisbane’s first private tollway—the Clem Jones Tunnel . They also established FLOW Tolling, a tolling service provider. Rivercity Motorways Group won the rights to be the maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel...
Limited, was announced by Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman on 27 April 2006, beating a bid by the Brisconnections consortium. Contracts for the design and construction of the tunnel were given to Leighton Contractors and Baulderstone
Valemus
Lend Lease Infrastructure is the second largest construction and engineering specialist business in Australia and a division of Lend Lease Group....
/Bilfinger Berger
Bilfinger Berger
Bilfinger Berger is a large, internationally active construction and services company based in Mannheim, Germany.-History:Bilfinger Berger dates back to 1880 when August Bernatz founded an engineering business which became known, from 1886 as Bernatz & Grün and, from 1892, as Grün & Bilfinger.In...
Joint Venture. Transurban
Transurban
Transurban is an international toll road developer and manager with interests in Australia and North America. In Australia, Transurban has a stake in five out of Sydney’s nine motorways, and in Melbourne it is the full owner of CityLink, which connects three of the city’s major freeways...
declined to place a tender because of risk-return
Risk-return spectrum
The risk-return spectrum is the relationship between the amount of return gained on an investment and the amount of risk undertaken in that investment. The more return sought, the more risk that must be undertaken.-The progression:...
factors.
The losing bid by the Brisconnections consortium incorporated three lanes of traffic in each direction (as opposed to two lanes for the winning bid). With a price difference of A$20 million the decision to build a two-lane tunnel was criticised in some circles as short-sighted. Brisconnections did win the tender for the Airport Link with a similarly aggressive bid that requires almost double the traffic anticipated by government for the project to be successful.
One of the reasons for building the tunnel as a public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
was that it should reduce Brisbane City Council's risks regarding the tunnel construction and operation. However, the public disclosure documents released by Rivercity Motorway indicate that there are still considerable uncosted risks left with Council. For example, a 10 m extension was required for the exhaust stack at the Woolloongabba end of the tunnel and the full cost was required to be borne by Brisbane City Council, not Rivercity Motorway.
Public offering
The initial share offer was for shares at a cost of $1.00 with 50% deferred for 12 months. The shares were listed on the ASX at $0.46, 8% below the offer price, and as of August 2010, have traded for as little as $0.019 while dividends have been discontinued as of September 2008. The ASX issuer code for the Rivercity Motorway Group is RCY.Construction
At the start of the project it was the longest road tunnel being built in the country. 3.5 million tonnes of excavated rock was removed from the tunnel by conveyor, stored in silo
Silo
A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials.Silo may also refer to:* Silo , a 3D modeling software* Silo , a defunct chain of retail electronics stores* SILO , used in Linux...
s and taken away by truck. During a typical weekday period more than 25 trucks per hour have been hauling removed soil and rock along Kingsford Smith Drive
Kingsford Smith Drive
Kingford Smith Drive may refer to:* Kingsford Smith Drive, Brisbane* Kingsford Smith Drive, Canberra...
to an area near the Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Melbourne and Sydney Airports. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Located in the suburb with the same name, the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area...
.
During construction all 1,700 staff working on the project and all site visitors, who are inside the tunnel, could be located at any time using an RFID tagging system that transmits a person's location wirelessly. The system was designed to monitor site access and asset location as well as to improve safety and efficiency in what is a high profile and potentially hazardous worksite.
Difficult drilling conditions, due to the very hard Brisbane Tuff rock that is found under inner Brisbane, were encountered and overcome. Both purpose-built, double-shield boring
Boring (earth)
Boring is drilling a hole, tunnel, or well in the earth.-Earth boring:Boring is used for a wide variety of applications in geology, agriculture, hydrology, civil engineering, and oil and natural gas industries...
machines began on the northern end, with the first arriving in Brisbane in July 2007 and cutting commencing in December after testing was conducted. At the time, the tunneling machines were the biggest in the world, weighing 4,000 tonnes and each being 250 m (820.2 ft) in length. Each machine cost A$50 million to build. The boring machines of 12.34 m (40.5 ft) diameter each were built by the German firm Herrenknecht
Herrenknecht
Herrenknecht AG is a German manufacturer of tunnel boring machines of all sizes. Herrenknecht is headquartered in Allmannsweier near Schwanau and is the world market leader for heavy tunnel boring machines...
and can dig up to 20 m (65.6 ft) per day. When finished the boring machines will have placed 37,000 precast linings. Smaller roadheader
Roadheader
A roadheader, also called a boom-type roadheader, road header machine, road header or just header machine, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a boom-mounted cutting head, a loading device usually involving a conveyor, and a crawler travelling track to move the entire machine forward...
machines began from the southern end in February 2007.
As of September 2008, TBM 2 (named Florence) had reached Kangaroo Point on the southern side of the Brisbane River whereas TBM 1 (named Matilda), which began in March 2008, was still tunneling under the river. By this time bridges had reached the final construction stages at the Northern Portal and the Morrissey Street bridge in Woolloongabba. In early December 2008, Florence had connected to the eastern entrance tunnels from Shafston Avenue. By April 2009 the tunnel excavation was 85% complete. Florence completed tunnelling work on 16 April 2009, while Matilda completed tunneling work on 26 May 2009.
There was some controversy over the environmental hazards which may be caused by the construction phase and operation of the tunnels. In March 2005, local residents protested construction plans primarily due to the expected air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
from exhaust ventilation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
stacks. One 43 m (141.1 ft) purple structure was built in Jurgens Street, Woolloongabba, another 36 m (118.1 ft) red stack was constructed in O'Connell Terrace, Bowen Hills.
CLEM7 Community Open Day
The CLEM7 Community Open Day took place on 28 February 2010. The Open Day commenced with a 10 km long Clem7 Tunnel Run through the entire length of the Clem Jones Tunnel. The electronically timed event was limited to 5,000 participants. The run started and finished at the Bowen Hills tunnel portal. Runners run through the tunnel twice, from Bowen Hills portal to the Woolloongabba portal, and back to Bowen Hills portal. Funds raised during the Tunnel Run will support the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation. Following the Tunnel Run, the first public walk through the tunnel attracted 55,000 people.Public transport
Starting on 22 March 2010, a new bus route has been operating through the tunnel at a cost of $1.6 million. Route 77 links the suburbs of Eight Mile Plains and Chermside, completing the 30 km (18.6 mi) cross-city journey in 39 minutes and operates every 15 minutes at peak times and 30 minutes off-peak.Tolls
| Vehicle | Current Toll A$ (as of 27 November 2011) |
|---|---|
| Motorcycle | $1.95 |
| Car | $3.95 |
| Light Commercial Vehicle (1.5 to 4.5 tonnes) | $6.61 |
| Heavy Commercial Vehicle (over 4.5 tonnes) <4.6 m (15.1 ft) clearance | $11.66 |
Toll collection is conducted by both an electronic tolling system using a tag fitted inside vehicles or by taking a photograph of licence plates, avoiding the need for vehicles to slow or stop. The Go via
Go via
go via is the new form of free-flow tolling for Queensland Motorways and is designed to coincide with the Gateway Upgrade Project. It replaces the previous E Toll system in Queensland, though existing tags will continue to work there and throughout Australia...
and FLOW Tolling systems are both utilised. The toll concession period is 45 years.
A toll free period was in operation until 5 April 2010, followed by 5 weeks of reduced tolls. Rivercity Motorway claims the toll is the lowest per kilometre compared with similar tunnels in Australia. An image processing fee of 47 cents is levied on vehicles without an e-tag, starting from 15 September 2010. The tolls are expected to increase on 1 January each year according with Brisbane CPI. These toll rates are as expensive as the Sydney Cross City Tunnel
Cross City Tunnel
The Cross City Tunnel is a 2.1 km-long tunnel located in Sydney, Australia. It links Darling Harbour on the Western fringe of the central business district to Rushcutters Bay in the Eastern Suburbs...
which is Australia's most expensive toll road.
Brisbane Mayor Cr Newman has been criticised over the tolling regime being inconsistent with his promises during the 2004 election. The promises included a tolling duration of 35 years, a toll of no more than $2.00 and a total cost of $1 billion.
Due to lack of patronage, on 28 June 2010, River City Motorways announced reduced tolls of $2.00 per car from 1 July 2010 until 15 November 2010, hoping to increase traffic.
Poor patronage
The Clem7 Tunnel was predicted by Rivercity Motorways to carry around 60,000 trips each day. Without a toll an average of 59,000 vehicles used the tunnel but when the reduced toll was payable around 20,000 vehicles made a trip through the tunnel each day. The lower traffic volumes resulted in the toll discount period being extended to 30 June 2010, and again until September. After the poor patronage figures were released Rivercity Motorway shares immediately dropped by one fifth of their value, and have since declined to 0% of their initial value. The peak of 27,000 vehicles was reached on 14 May 2010. A new record of 34,705 vehicles was reached on 13 August 2010. As of March 2011 the average volume of vehicles is just 28,000 per day, less than 50% of the predicted opening volume. On 25 February 2011, Rivercity Motorways has been placed into receivership after being unable to pay interest on its debt.The traffic estimates produced for Rivercity Motorway by Maunsell include a two year ramp up period from opening at 60,000 to an annual average daily volume of 100,000 vehicles in 2012. No ramp-up has occurred as of March 2011, and the actual volume of traffic (34,075 peak) remains below the minimum opening value estimated by Maunsell. The Maunsell forecast then rises to 110,000 vehicles per day in 2014, and 135,000 in 2026. In contrast, traffic estimates produced as part of the Northern Link Supplementary EIS predict an average weekday traffic volume in the Clem7 tunnel of 70 900 vehicles in 2014, and 92,300 in 2026, if Northern Link is not built (over 30% less than the Maunsell estimates). If Northern Link is built, these estimates for the Clem7 tunnel volumes fall further to 65,900 in 2014 and 82,000 in 2026 (40% less than the Maunsell estimates). In the most recent Rivercity Motorway Financial Report it was noted that "if traffic assumptions over the entire concession period differed to estimates by +/-5% then the value in use would be impacted by +/-$99 million.".
After opening, the tunnel was found to save an average of 8 minutes travel time. During the toll free period, traffic on the Pacific Motorway, Captain Cook Bridge, inner-city bypass, and Story Bridge, decreased by over 10%, while traffic on Lutwyche Road increased by over 20%. However after the toll was implemented, only the story bridge and innercity bypass showed a reduction (of around 5%) in traffic compared to before the tunnel was open.
See also
- South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and ProgramSouth East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and ProgramThe South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2010–2031 is produced by the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning and outlines estimated infrastructure investment across South East Queensland Australia to 2031. It represents a long-term commitment to infrastructure...
- Transport in BrisbaneTransport in BrisbaneTransport in Brisbane, the capital and largest city of Queensland, Australia, is provided by road, rail, river and bay ferries, footpaths, bikepaths, sea and air....
External links
- CLEM7 Tunnel
- Clem Jones Tunnel Official website
- Product Disclosure Statement for the share offering of the tunnel containing details of the financial contract.
- RiverCity Motorway
- Rivermouth Action Group a lobby group opposed to tunneling in Brisbane
- Tunnel Map from the Brisbane City Council
