Burnley Tunnel

Burnley Tunnel

Driving through the tunnel in 2010
Overview
Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°49′28″S 144°59′03″E / 37.82444°S 144.98417°E / -37.82444; 144.98417Coordinates: 37°49′28″S 144°59′03″E / 37.82444°S 144.98417°E / -37.82444; 144.98417
Status	Active
Route	CityLink tollway eastbound
Start	Southbank
End	Burnley
Operation
Constructed	Roadheader with some cut and cover
Opened	22 December 2000
Operator	Transurban
Traffic	Automotive
Character	Limited access highway
Technical
Length	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
No. of lanes	3
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)

The Burnley Tunnel is a tollway tunnel in Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, which carries traffic eastbound from the West Gate Freeway to the Monash Freeway. It is part of the CityLink Tollway operated by Transurban. Running under the Yarra River and the inner suburbs of Richmond and Burnley, the tunnel provides a bypass of the central business district.

The tunnel was constructed between 1996 and 2000 by Transfield–Obayashi Corporation Joint Venture. Prior to its opening to traffic, the tunnel was opened to the public to walk through from Southbank to Burnley, on 16 December 2000.

The tunnel was opened to traffic on 22 December 2000. In February 2001 it was found that a wall panel was cracked with 5 litres of water a second entering the tunnel. The cause was later found to be floor sections lifting from water pressure, and modifications to correct this being approved in November 2001. Also in 2001 Transfield Obayashi Joint Venture agreed to pay Transurban $157 million in damages in an out-of-court settlement over late completion of the tunnel.

Transurban launched further legal action against the Transfield Obayashi Joint Venture in 2007, after radar tests indicated the tunnel walls were thinner than that specified in the contract, possibly resulting in the tunnel not lasting for the proposed 100-year design life. Further tunnel leaks were also discovered in 2007, but were unrelated to the tunnel fire. When Transurban hands the tunnel over to the Victorian government in 2034, after 34 years in service, it must do so with the tunnel in the condition that it will have a 66-year operational life.

On 23 March 2007 just before 10 am, a pile-up occurred in the tunnel involving three trucks and four cars. The crash resulted in an explosion and a subsequent fire which reached temperatures in excess of 1,000 °C (1,832 °F) according to firefighters, and forced the evacuation of motorists from both the Burnley and nearby Domain tunnels. Three people died in the accident. Geoff Kennard, 51. One was Australian cyclist Damian McDonald, who won a gold medal in the road team time trial at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, and also represented Australia at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Another was Darren Hartley Sporn, a father of two daughters, who owned a plumbing business. Approximately 400 people were advised by the tunnel's safety system to abandon their cars, to leave their keys in the ignition, and to evacuate the tunnel after the collision.