Overview | |
---|---|
Location | Ewingsdale, New South Wales, Australia |
Coordinates | 28°39′10″S 153°32′54″E / 28.6527°S 153.5482°E |
Status | Open |
Route | Pacific Motorway |
Operation | |
Work begun | 27 September 2012 |
Constructed | Lend Lease |
Opened | 18 December 2015 |
Owner | Transport for NSW |
Traffic | Automotive (Cyclists and Pedestrians in side lane) |
Character | Dual carriageway grade-separated national highway |
Technical | |
Length | 434 metres (1,424 ft) |
No. of lanes | Built for 3 lanes each direction, opened as 2 northbound & 3 southbound lanes |
Operating speed | 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph)[1] |
Tunnel clearance | 5.3 metres (17 ft) |
Width | 13.3 metres (44 ft) |
Grade | 2.2% |
The St Helena Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel that forms part of the Pacific Highway near Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. The 434-metre-long (1,424 ft) tunnel under St Helena Hill in the locality of Ewingsdale was built as part of the 17-kilometre (11 mi) Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade, which involved a new alignment of the highway.
The tunnel was built to avoid the steep grades of St Helena Hill on the previous alignment of the highway, and the associated heavy truck noise and pollution. At its deepest point the tunnel is 45 metres (148 ft) below the 131-metre-high (430 ft) ridge line. There are two tunnels, with the northbound tunnel accommodating two traffic lanes and the southbound three traffic lanes, due to the gradient of the highway at this point. There is also a bicycle/pedestrian lane in each tunnel.[2]
The cost of the Tintenbar–Ewingsdale upgrade project was $862 million, jointly funded by the New South Wales and Federal governments. It opened on 18 December 2015. The remaining tie-in work at each end was completed in March 2016.[3][needs update]
The St Helena Road passes over the top of the tunnel and provides local access to the Bangalow Road (B62) that is a link between Bangalow and Byron Bay.[4]