Three JVs have been shortlisted to build Brisbane’s US$3.28bn underground airport link and part of the city’s northern busway, the projects being the second of Brisbane’s TransApex road tunnel schemes.

Two contractors from the Leighton Holdings group – Thiess and John Holland – are part of the BrisConnections venture which is up against Northern Motorway, a JV that includes another firm from the group, Leighton Contractors.

The remaining JV members are banks – Macquarie and ABN-Amro, the latter having had separate success with Leighton recently when winning the tender to takeover the troubled Cross City toll tunnel in Sydney (see p 12).

NorthConnect Motorway is the third shortlisted JV, and includes Baulderstone Hornibrook, Abigroup, two Bilfinger Berger firms, Babcock & Brown, and Hyder Consulting in co-operation with Snowy Mountain Engineering Consultants, plus Coffey Geotechnics and Hassell.

The only foreign JV to tender did not make it to the shortlist. The JV was a Spanish venture comprising Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras and Dragados, both of the ACS Group.

The airport link calls for construction of a mostly tunnelled 6.7km highway. It will link to the North-South bypass tunnel, currently under construction by RiverCity Motorway – which involves Leighton, Baulderstone and Bilfinger, all players from the shortlisted JVs.

Final tenders for the airport link are due later this year and a preferred bidder for the privately financed scheme will be chosen. Contract award is to be finalised in 2008 for project completion in 2012.

The shortlisting coincided with the arrival of the first parts of the two 12.4m diameter Herrenknecht TBMs that will bore the main tunnels of the forementioned North-South bypass. The TBMs cost approximately US$44M each.

The first double shield TBM is to start its drive in December and the second in March 2008, each three months ahead of the initial construction programme. Likewise, early programme gains due to early access enabled a fleet of roadheaders to get working sooner on the access tunnels.

The TBMs are 258m long, weigh 4000 tonnes and daily advance rates for each is expected to be about 20m.

They will bore almost three-quarters of the excavation works, commencing at from the north side of the Brisbane River, at Bowen Hills, to drive 4.8km twin tubes south to Woolloongabba.


The first of two TBMs arrives in Brisbane Access tunnels under construction