Brisbane’s Northern Link Tunnel project gets the approval of the authorities

Brisbane-Northern-Link-Tunnel-ProjectThe Queensland state government has finally approved the twin tunnel project of Brisbane City Council linking Brisbane's western and northern suburbs. The state government approved the project after spent more than two years doing environmental checks and has taken hundreds of public submissions.

However, the government imposed 34 conditions on this project. The construction of the tunnels is now expected to start by December this year.

The Brisbane City Council proposed to build the twin tunnel underground toll road linking the Centenary Motorway at Toowong to the Inner City Bypass at Herston. The expected cost of the project is around $A1.7 billion.

The project will be funded jointly by the council, state and federal governments. The Federal Government will invest $A500 million in the project.

Stirling Hinchliffe, Infrastructure Minister of Queensland, said 34 conditions had been imposed on the project by coordinator General Colin Jensen after 28 months of evaluation. The conditions cover issues including surface impacts, the widening of streets and air quality levels.

"The Northern Link road tunnel is obviously a major piece of infrastructure that will have a positive impact on improving traffic flows in Brisbane," said Mr. Hinchliffe. "Its construction will need to be managed carefully to minimize any adverse impacts on local residents and the environment."