Digging at Parramatta's Metro West restarts after halt due to concerns it could impact telco building
It has been two years since Sydney Metro began excavating twin 9-kilometre long tunnels linking Parramatta to the Sydney CBD. The lines are a part of the state government's 24-kilometre Metro West project, slated for completion in 2032.
According to Sydney Metro, Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have already completed 80 per cent of the work.
In response to reports of concerns the Telstra building's foundations would be damaged by the machines, Sydney Metro said it was aware "of matters associated with the Telstra Building at 213 Church Street" before the contract was awarded.
The spokesperson said that both companies involved, Gamuda Australia and Laing 'O Rourke Consortium, knew of the matters before they began digging.
In a statement on Monday, Sydney Metro said it had worked with the telecommunications giant to "coordinate geotechnical investigations" to "verify ground conditions, foundations and pile depth of the building".
Premier Chris Minns said that tunnelling was set to resume in the "next few days", with Sydney Metro confirming digging recommenced on Monday morning.
A spokesperson for Telstra said they were liaising with the state government and Sydney Metro to "ensure our infrastructure isn't affected by the new Metro West station".
Mr Minns and Sydney Metro said the pause would have no impact on the $25.3 billion budget for the site or the predicted completion date.
"The engineering concerns about that Parramatta intersection for the Telstra exchange was a known commodity when it came to this project," the premier said.
Sydney Metro said due to the mix of "high rise commercial and retail buildings alongside heritage listed properties" in Parramatta's CBD, design and construction methods had been reviewed throughout the project to ensure tunnels were constructed safely and infrastructure protected.
"Geotechnical results for 213 Church Street have provided input into the final metro tunnel design and alignment to mitigate any risks to the buildings above."
When asked by the ABC about how long the tunnels had been paused, Sydney Metro did not give an exact time frame.
"This is a normal part of safely and responsibly excavating tunnels," it said.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman said the government needs to be transparent, and that any expert who approved the tunnelling needs to be "held to account."
"They need to explain what they did, when they did it, why they did and the government needs to come clean on what the time and cost implications are of this," Mr Speakman said.
The Metro West Project was announced in 2016 by former Liberal premier Mike Baird.
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