3 March 2021

Download the fact sheet

The West Gate Tunnel Project has a number of major construction sites. All works on these sites are carefully planned and managed to make sure residents can continue to enjoy where they live, and business can continue to operate.

This fact sheet outlines what we are doing to manage the impacts during construction of the West Gate Tunnel Project and how you can contact us if have questions.

The West Gate Tunnel Project will provide a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge, quicker and safer journeys and remove over 9000 trucks a day from residential streets in the inner west.

The project benefits

  • Taking 9,000 trucks a day off residential streets.
  • More than 14km of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths, creating better connections for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • A greener and healthier environment for inner west residents with rehabilitated wetlands, more than 17,000 new trees and tens of thousands of native and indigenous shrubs planted.
  • A better connected freeway network, helping people and goods move around Melbourne.
  • 6,000 jobs during construction, including jobs for people starting their careers.

Vibration and ground movement

Thousands of tunnels are constructed and operate safely in cities around the world, including the CityLink and EastLink tunnels in Melbourne.

Tunnel boring machines are very good at reducing vibration so people living and working above the tunnel may not notice construction happening underground.

We will:

  • inspect properties before and after construction
  • monitor ground movement and vibration levels at all times
  • meet strict targets set to manage vibration, minimise disruption, and avoid damage to buildings.

Noise

Strict controls have been put in place to ensure construction noise is well managed and complies with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria guidelines and the Environmental Performance Requirements that have been set for the project.

These controls include:

  • using materials and equipment to reduce noise from major activities at construction compounds
  • planning noisy works at times where there will be least inconvenience, and always providing advance notice to the community
  • monitoring noise levels and taking action to reduce noise
  • leaving existing noise walls in place where practical or providing temporary noise walls until new ones are built.

Important

There are specific requirements to protect residents from excessive noise at night. If noise exceeds set levels, we will reassess the situation and take action to manage any impacts. This could mean changing the time of work, providing respite periods, using noise barriers or changing construction methods to reduce noise to the greatest extent possible. If you ever have concerns about the amount of noise call us straight away on 1800 105 105.

Dust

We try to avoid creating dust during construction, but where it can’t be avoided we will take action to reduce the dust and limit as much as possible its impact on the surrounding environment.

We will:

  • cover, spray and monitor dirt and rock when being transported
  • spraying water on open stockpiles and roads to keep dust down
  • monitoring dust levels at key locations and take action to suppress dust in extreme windy conditions.

Lighting

Where we are required to work at night, we will use lights to provide safe working conditions. We will limit the light impacts on residential areas adjacent to work zones by positioning all lighting to face the work areas and away from residential properties where possible.

Contaminated soil

Most of the soil and rock we’re digging out of the ground is natural material. However, because heavy industry and rubbish tips have operated previously at some of our construction sites, we expect to find some contaminated soil and will manage it safely.

We will:

  • carry out detailed studies to identify areas with contamination
  • manage any contaminated materials in accordance with EPA Victoria requirements, environmental laws and regulations
  • test soil and separate contaminated materials from clean fill
  • use facilities licensed by EPA Victoria to treat and dispose of contaminated soil or re-use fill according to approved guidelines
  • cover all trucks that are removing contaminated soil and rock.

Trees and vegetation

We want to see as many mature trees retained as possible and will only remove plants when it is necessary for construction.

We will:

  • conduct detailed tree studies to confirm important trees and habitats
  • set out no-go zones and fence areas to be protected
  • plant over 17,000 trees and tens of thousands of native and Indigenous shrubs and grasses along the roads and around waterways and parks.

Traffic and detours

During construction you may notice changes to some of the roads you are familiar with. Detours and early warning signals will be put in place leading up to and around work zones. There will also be trucks travelling to and from construction sites.

To keep traffic moving we will:

  • implement tailored traffic management plans for each construction zone to ensure vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians can move safely around work areas, access public transport and also be aware of changes to speed limits and property access
  • keep all freeway lanes open during peak times where possible
  • limit construction traffic and project vehicles on major roads during peak travel times
  • provide clear and up-to-date information for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians via social media, the project website, letterbox drops and doorknocks with affected residents and businesses.

Parks and sporting grounds

We have avoided the use of open spaces for construction as much as possible and will continue to work with councils, community groups and sporting clubs to reduce disruption from our works.

We will:

  • keep all sporting grounds open and operating during construction
  • work with councils and clubs to avoid impacting on organised local events
  • reinstate or improve the small number of open space areas being used during construction where possible.

The project will create nearly 9 hectares of new open space including parkland for the community to enjoy.

Environmental Management Strategy (EMS)

All works are planned and managed in line with the project’s Environmental Management Strategy (EMS). You can find the EMS on our website. It identifies the impacts of project construction and how they should be managed. It was approved by a number of organisations before works on the project started.

Travel disruption

During construction you can plan ahead using our travel disruptions map.

We will also be updating our social media channels including our Facebook and Twitter page.

View our Keeping Traffic Moving fact sheet for more details.