A $1 BILLION-plus tunnel linking the Warringah Freeway to a new, elevated Spit Bridge is being discussed by Macquarie Bank and State Government officials in an attempt to solve the perennial problem of traffic congestion on the North Shore.
Backers say it could be funded mostly by the private sector, with a toll to recoup costs.
The tunnel would start at Cammeray and end just before the Spit. It would be linked to a new, higher bridge that would not need to be opened to let boats through.
Macquarie Bank, its toll road arm, Macquarie Infrastructure, and the community group Sensible Transport Action Group have been discussing the proposal with Roads and Traffic Authority officials for several months, the Herald has learnt. The RTA officials will soon advise the Roads Minister, Michael Daley, on the project.
Yesterday an RTA spokesman confirmed the talks on the tunnel. "The RTA has received the revised proposal from [Sensible Transport Action Group] and Macquarie Bank for a tunnel linking the Warringah Freeway with Spit Road, and is currently examining it," he said.
He said the RTA and Treasury would need to review traffic forecasts and carry out an economic analysis before advising the Government on the feasibility of the proposal.
The acting Roads Minister, David Campbell, said the Government welcomed suggestions on ways to ease road congestion in Sydney.
"The RTA will be asking the group for further detail and will review the proposal in full before providing the minister with formal advice on the proposal," he said.
But Mr Campbell said the Government was wary because the proposal was short on detail and "would require a substantial contribution of between $500 million and $1 billion, possibly more".
There were concerns about the "group's ambitious traffic forecasts, which assume that the majority of the vehicles currently using these roads would switch from the existing free road to a new tollway".
A former banker, Peter Papas, who is behind the proposal, would not discuss it when contacted by the Herald . But he said that once it was operating, there would be no need for continuing government financial support. He said the focus would be on finalising a proposal that was financially viable.
Several years ago the Federal Government's Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics found a tunnel could be viable. It estimated in 2002 that a short tunnel - 5.1 kilometres from the Warringah Expressway at Cammeray to the city side of the Spit - would cost $651 million.
A 7.6-kilometre project to beyond Sydney Road at Manly, including a new, higher bridge over the Spit, would cost $956 million. With inflation, this has pushed the project to more than $1 billion.
Initial estimates that the short tunnel could be viable with a $3.50 toll are also likely to have changed. A much higher toll is likely if the project goes ahead.
The bureau found the short tunnel would require no financial contribution from the Government, but the long tunnel would need a $290 million contribution, based on analysis from 2003.
The RTA has told the Spit tunnel backers that to end the tunnel south of the Spit Bridge would create safety problems, because traffic would queue back into the tunnel.
The project's supporters are finalising plans for a project which would include a Middle Harbour crossing.
The RTA also criticised the lack of plans for air filtration.
The member for Manly, Mike Baird, said he was encouraged by the plan, but that it was vital that any tunnel proposal was built around the provision of express bus services.
"The community will embrace anything that enhances travel times and boosts public transport," Mr Baird said.
