Power cables bored under Blackwattle Bay

BY MICK ROBERTS

A project is underway to bore power cables under Sydney Harbour between Rozelle and Pyrmont.
To create the 1.5km cable route, Energy Australia contractors will use a horizontal directional drill to bore from James Craig Road in Rozelle, passing under Blackwattle Bay and the Anzac Bridge, to the intersection of John and Pyrmont Streets, Pyrmont. Linesmen will later pull the cables through the bored channels.
An Energy Australia spokesperson said the work is part of a $155 million infrastructure upgrade over the next five years to improve the safety and reliability of the city’s electricity supply.
The drill will re-surface from Blackwattle Bay at Bank Street, where trenching will take place along 200m of Pyrmont Street.
The spokesperson said a 1.2m wide trench will be dug along Pyrmont Street to link the cables from John Street to the Pyrmont substation. This work is scheduled to take place from September to November.
Once the excavation work is complete, Energy Australia contractors will lay a temporary bitumen surface and Sydney City Council will undertake permanent resurfacing of the excavated sections of the road.
While work on the project will start at Rozelle this month, heavy machinery is not expected to arrive in Pyrmont until September, when construction hours will be from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.
The project comes on the back of a half a million dollar project to replace ageing power cables under Surry Hills’ roads.
The new underground cables from the Campbell Street zone substation will increase power supply and improve reliability of electricity to homes and businesses in the area, the spokesperson said.
The City News revealed last month, the $500,000 project replaces cables in Campbell, Samuel, Reservoir, Commonwealth, Foveaux, Elizabeth and Kippax Streets.
The project, nearing completion, was stalled due to large amounts of rock and existing services found during excavation, and as a result the route needed to be altered.
For further information call Energy Australia’s major projects team on 1800 214 193.