10 July 2020
Image courtesy of WestConnex | Transurban
The new 9-kilometre twin underground motorway tunnels run from the end of the M5 Motorway at Kingsgrove, to St Peters Interchange in Sydney’s South.
As Australia’s population grows and existing road infrastructure becomes more congested, urban planners are increasingly turning to underground road tunnel networks to support smart city and regional expansion. Under stringent government regulations, all underground motorway tunnels require the inclusion, operation and maintenance of three specific air quality monitoring functions: sensors inside the tunnel, ventilation outlets, and ambient locations around the tunnel.
The WestConnex M8 is the first tunnel project in Australia that incorporates ACOEM air quality monitoring hardware for all three regulatory components – in-tunnel air quality sensors supplied by ACOEM Tunnel Sensors, and ambient and ventilation outlet monitoring stations by ACOEM Ecotech. In addition, ACOEM Ecotech has also been contracted to provide ongoing maintenance and data validation for air quality monitoring on behalf of WestConnex | Transurban who is responsible for owning and operating the asset during its concession.
ACOEM, the parent company of both Ecotech Pty. Ltd. and Tunnel Sensors Ltd., has supported the tunnel delivery contractor, CPB Contractors Dragados Samsung Joint Venture since the project’s inception in 2014. ACOEM’s 40+ years of domestic and international expertise in designing, operating and maintaining air quality monitoring systems for in-tunnel and ambient applications was key to its selection as the exclusive provider of air quality systems for this project.
ACOEM’s network of air quality monitoring systems helps to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of motorists and communities in neighbouring areas while providing the most effective solution for regulatory compliance.
“This is the first time that a road tunnel project has exclusively integrated ACOEM’s Ecotech and Tunnel Sensors equipment together to create a seamless solution for all aspects of air quality monitoring from initial planning, through construction phase and testing all the way to operations and maintenance contracts,” commented Michael Preston, Strategic Business Development Manager, ACOEM Ecotech.
“This united ACOEM team approach is just one example of how we work collaboratively on a global scale to give our customers the advantage of combined expertise and knowledge in environmental monitoring technologies for tunnel infrastructure,” he added.
For more information about ACOEM’s global expertise in road tunnel air quality monitoring systems, please contact [email protected] or visit our website. For more information about the WestConnex M8, visit www.westconnex.com.au
Check out the full media release here: Ecotech media releases
