St Helena Tunnel | |
Location: | Ewingsdale, New South Wales, Australia |
Route: | Pacific Highway |
Status: | Open |
Startwork: | 27 September 2012 |
Opened: | 18 December 2015 |
Owner: | Transport for NSW |
Traffic: | Automotive (Cyclists and Pedestrians in side lane) |
Character: | Dual carriageway grade-separated national highway |
Construction: | Lendlease |
Lanes: | Built for 3 lanes each direction, opened as 2 northbound & 3 southbound lanes |
Grade: | 2.2% |
The St Helena Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel that forms part of the Pacific Highway in the Byron Bay hinterland in New South Wales, Australia. The 434adj=midNaNadj=mid tunnel under St Helena Hill in Ewingsdale was built as part of the 17km (11miles) 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 below the 131adj=midNaNadj=mid 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.[1]
The cost of the Tintenbar–Ewingsdale upgrade project was $862 million, jointly funded by the Federal and New South Wales governments. It opened on 18 December 2015.[2]
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.[3]