The Sydney Harbour Tunnel - 1993 Australian Road Construction Documentary Film

Short documentary about the planning, development, and official opening of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, which joins the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney with the Cahill Expressway at the northern edge of the Sydney CBD. The tunnel was constructed by joint venture partners Transfield and Kumagai Gumi, and was opened on 29 August 1992 by NSW Premier John Fahey. This footage was produced by Showboat Productions.

Credit : State of New South Wales (Transport for NSW) 2016, sourced from Transport for NSW Historical Archives

[lachiem]

It's easy to take infrastructure like this for granted when it's been around your entire life, videos like this really give you an appreciation for it!

[phil]

I’ve driven through those tunnels countless times and never knew just how complex and well thought out they are. Very impressive

[justinjameson]

This film was clearly made by engineers. A very concise technical overview.

[robman]

A very professional effort by Kumagi and Transfield. On time and on budget, and I’ve never seen a drop of water in the tunnel, unlike some others where water entry is less critical.

[tigesinaus]

Always wanted to understand the build process! Thanks for sharing.

[DiHandley]

The engineering required is mind boggling!

[paulparadoxia]

Loved nerding out on this.. Blows me away how clever humans can be on the one hand whilst being absolutely stupid on the other.... I won't take this stuff for granted anymore though !!!

[johnking]

Always blew my mind going through this tunnel, I (for some reason) always believed it went completely under the harbour, through the rock below, now I understand it sits at the bottom of the harbour! fascinating to see them tow in the sections and drop them down to the bottom as well as securing them in place, What a magnificent achievement!

[joshuamott]

So amazing understanding what went into what most people just consider a road to get to work

[fredsalfa]

Remember when it first opened a friend did 160 kmh through the tunnel and didn’t realise there were speed cameras inside 😆🤷‍♂️

[PLANETIA]

Very interesting. I remember it all as if it was just yesterday however, I never knew the complexities of just how much work was needed to complete this magnificent project. Thanks for creating and sharing. DM.

[scottjenkins]

At 12:38 mark is a hopper barge in the background, W.H.Discovery. I was a 13yo old kid going out on that barge every day in the school holidays.
My old man drove a water cart cleaning the roadway from the original Paddy's Markets at Haymarket to Pier 16 as the excavated soil from the construction of what is now Market City was used as fill around the immersed tunnel sections to minimise lateral loads.
Dad would drop me off at Pier 16 on his first trip of the day and pick me up when he was done for the day.

I'll never forget standing on the deck with a deckhand named Will, the 6-toed Canadian, and the captain, Dooley, called me up to the wheelhouse. He handed me a pair of binoculars and told me to look at the 40-odd ft pleasure cruiser nearby. The cruiser had the distinct Playboy bunny logo on the back and also an actual Playboy bunny, stark naked, doing a photo shoot on the rear of the cruiser.
GREAT day for a 13yo boy! 🤣🤣

[mmclaren]

I could listen to this narration all day

[Skybar]

Never knew the Pylon on the bridge had exhaust fans in it...thought its was just thick Pylons to support the bridge..who knew in 1932 when the Sydney harbour Bridge was completed that it would have such a use.

[barrywalker]

Fond memories of working on this project all those years ago

[aaronc]

so far advanced and well thought out. its a real shame that Australia doesn't have anymore of these types of projects the engineering feat along with the future in mind is something so easily forgotten nowadays, not to mention on time and on budget.

[deec]

All managed without tech advancements of today, just good old fashioned work, congrats to all involved

[ternilapilli]

Somehow I never realised (or more likely forgot) that they reused the northern pylons of the bridge as exhaust stacks. Also genuinely surprised that there was an easily removed protest banner at the opening that wasn't removed. A few bits of this piece were definitely giving off Turbo Encabulator vibes! And the music somewhat unexpected for a 1990's film but it could have been a lot worse!

[mickeynismocat]

I remember a Holden touring car going through also!

[jaredmacquart]

on schedule and on budget is something you dont hear anymore