Sydney Airport
Project Overview
Client: Transport for New South Wales
Length: Various lengths
Duration: April 2016 to October 2020
Value: $400 million
Contract type: GC21
Works undertaken
The Sydney Airport precinct underwent significant infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the high traffic volume of over 150,000 travellers passing through the area daily. The improvements focused on road connectivity, drainage, and pedestrian/cyclist accessibility across the west, east, and north sectors of the airport.
Sydney Airport West:
Marsh Street widening: Between the M5 interchange and Giovanni Brunetti Bridge, Marsh Street was widened to accommodate three lanes of traffic in each direction, improving road capacity.
Pedestrian and cyclist improvements: A shared 3-meter path was added to improve safety and accessibility for non-motorised traffic.
Sydney Airport East:
Extension of Wentworth Avenue: A new rail bridge and underpass were constructed to connect Wentworth Avenue to General Holmes Drive, replacing the previous rail level crossing. This greatly improved both road and rail traffic efficiency.
Mill Pond Road and General Holmes Drive upgrades: These roads were widened, and intersections improved to increase traffic flow.
Joyce Drive and General Holmes Drive: Both were widened to three lanes in each direction between Mill Pond Road and O’Riordan Street, further easing congestion.
Botany Road: The road was widened, and pedestrian enhancements were implemented to improve safety and traffic management.
Sydney Airport North:
O’Riordan Street widening: The road was widened to six through lanes, enhancing traffic flow in this busy area.
One-way street conversion: Portions of O’Riordan Street and Robey Street were converted to one-way traffic to streamline movement and reduce congestion.
Traffic control signal (TCS) upgrades: Intersections were reconfigured and upgraded to manage the increased traffic lanes and new road configurations.
Water table issues:
The three projects involved construction in areas with high water tables. At Airport East, construction was temporarily halted due to the discovery of pollutants in the groundwater. To address this, the Ausling team helped decide to lower the water table by removing water from the underpass area and reinjecting it into the aquifer further east. This solution avoided the need to transport the water offsite as waste.
A similar approach was applied at Airport North during stormwater system installation in sandy and water-saturated conditions. Due to the depth of the excavations, shoring was necessary, along with water removal and reinjection away from the excavation site to facilitate construction.
Utility Adjustments:
All three sectors of the Sydney Airport precinct upgrades involved substantial utility adjustment and protection works to ensure infrastructure services such as power, water, and communications were safely maintained during construction.
These upgrades were essential for improving road efficiency, reducing congestion, and enhancing pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, ultimately supporting the growing demands of Sydney’s airport area.
Ausling provided the Resident Engineer and three Surveillance Officers across these projects.
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