Equilibria Proposal

The NSW and Commonwealth Governments have, on 16 March 2014, announced in-principle acceptance of an unsolicited proposal from Transurban to build a tunnel linking the M1 and the M2 Motorways. The new tunnel would affect a major reduction of heavy vehicle and other traffic on Pennant Hills Road while facilitating shorter travelling times for all motorists.

The Project, known as NorthConnex, whilst essentially a private enterprise, is to receive funding totaling $810M from the NSW and Commonwealth Governments.

Preliminary public meetings were held in March 2014 and in early April 2014 to present the submission by the winning tenderer, Lend Lease Bouygues Joint Venture. An Environmental Impact Statement was released to the public in July 2014, after which final approval of the Project was granted by the NSW Government.

The Lend Lease Bouygues Proposal provides a longer tunnel (9km instead of 8km) which has a northern portal approximately 1km north of Pacific Highway, near Bareena Avenue, Wahroonga. The northern portal design however does require amendment to reduce its environmental impact. At this point, the total motorway width would be 10 lanes as it also proposes to keep the existing M1 through to Pacific Highway. This duplication of road results in a massive expanse of bitumen through a section of Wahroonga which does not have a lot of peripheral space. Subsequently, the proposed northern portal requires the compulsory acquisition of adjacent houses and the construction of an exhaust stack in the immediate vicinity. This is not acceptable and must not go ahead.

The local community welcomes the concept of the tunnel development and is keen to ensure that the delivery achieves the best outcomes, overall. The solution for the northern portal should, after detailed community consultation and site analysis, recognise that the tunnel must not end in the middle of the Wahroonga residential area, and provide a smart solution that does not have any negative impact. To that extent, major suggested improvements to the NorthConnex Proposal which warrant further and most serious consideration have been suggested by Equilibria.

Equilibria’s Proposal would deliver benefits to the Federal Government, NSW State Government, Transurban, Lend Lease Bouygues and the municipalities of Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby. Equilibria’s Proposal is to build the tunnel approximately 1km longer than the current Transurban/Lend Lease Bouygues Proposal (approx. 2km north of Pacific Highway). The 2km length of M1 then becomes redundant and is rezoned to provide 2000 dwellings. The exhaust stack would be located at the highest point in the Hornsby industrial area.

The Transurban M1-M2 Tunnel project would then be instrumental in creating much sought after economic stimulus for the State of NSW. Perhaps the winning tenderer, Lend Lease Bouygues (a tier 1 construction company) would consider building the longer tunnel as well as taking control of the entire 100,000sqm of available land above.

In summary, the Equilibria Proposal is a minor change to the current Lend Lease Bouygues Joint Venture Proposal. The northern portal would now be relocated approximately 1km further north and valuable residential land would be made available. The overall commercial outcomes from the suggested amendment would enhance the commercial result and, most importantly, deliver significant community benefits and community acceptance.

This improvement opportunity will exist just once. If it is not accepted now, the present plans for NorthConnex will forever eliminate these possible benefits. I vehemently urge you to support the Equilibria Proposal by writing letters of support to the Government.