Work on the troubled West Gate Tunnel Project could soon resume after a site in Melbourne’s north-west was confirmed on Friday for disposing the contaminated soil that has delayed tunnelling for more than a year.
Three sites were approved by Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria, but builder John Holland CPB Joint Venture has chosen Hi-Quality’s landfill site at Bulla to send the project’s three million tonnes of contaminated rock and soil.
The multi-billion-dollar transport project was meant to be finished next year, but the detection of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the material excavated by the tunnel boring machines pushed the completion date to 2023. According to EPA, PFAS is often caused by extensive use of chemicals such as firefighting foams.
In February, the toll road operator Transurban flagged that the 2023 deadline was no longer achievable, while announcing a statutory loss of $448 million in its half year financial results, partly due to delayed in delivery of West Gate Tunnel project.
Designed as an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel Project will give Melbourne a second freeway link between the west and the city, creating an additional option of travel for more than 200,000 vehicles that rely on the West Gate Bridge everyday.
Community concerns
The Bulla community, where the Hi-Quality landfill site is located, is not happy with the decision. The Hume council Deputy Mayor Jack Medcraft told ABC the council was concerned about the number of trucks moving into the area.
“We’ve got a single lane, a nearly 200-year-old bridge in Bulla, that’s expected to take all the trucks of loaded soil to the tip. If there’s a major accident on that bridge the area will be gridlocked,” he said.
The residents in Bacchus Marsh, site of another EPA approved site at the Maddingley Brown Coal, celebrated the decision. The community had set up Bacchus Marsh Community Coalition to oppose the soil being dumped in the community.
Hi-Quality preparing site
Announcing the deal on Friday, family-run business Hi-Quality said it would soon commence works to prepare the site to receive the material. The company also gave assurance it would try to limit impacts to surrounding properties.
The preparation works, as the company noted, will include excavation, land clearing and building a barrier along Sunbury Road to limit any impacts to surrounding properties.
“Before starting the preparatory works, we will be in touch with adjoining landowners and the community more broadly with details of the works and to discuss any concerns,” Hi-Quality stated.
Hi-Quality has also stated that its facility has been assessed to “meet and exceed the highest environmental, operational and safety standards.”
“Our site design for managing the material excavated from the West Gate Tunnel Project addresses many of the concerns raised by the community, including using hard-stand and leach-proof lining on the containment bays, installing a globally recognised water treatment plant, and using robust lining in the containment cell,” the company statement noted,
“EPA Victoria has assessed the potential environmental impacts and determined Hi-Quality’s Sunbury Eco-Hub can safely manage the material excavated from the West Gate Tunnel Project in accordance with strict regulations designed to protect the environment and the health of the surrounding community,” the statement added.
Hi-Quality is expecting construction of the major works, including the processing area, water treatment plant and containment cell will take approximately six to seven months. First trucks from the tunnel are expected to arrive once the major works are completed.
Both EPA Victoria and Transurban have been contacted for comments.
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