Power lines go underground on Airport site
Work to build Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport has reached a major milestone, with power lines that were crossing the site now moved underground.
TransGrid, the manager and operator of the NSW transmission network, commenced work in January 2018 to relocate 3.2 kilometres of high-voltage power lines that were running aboveground across the Airport site to an underground cable route.
The final stage of the project, work to remove eight 30-metre-tall transmission towers from the Airport site, continued today with towers demolished at key locations.
Western Sydney International Chief Executive Officer Graham Millett said a 70-metre safety exclusion zone was established around the towers before they were demolished.
“This is an exciting moment for the Airport – construction is well under way and the community can see the progress for themselves,” Mr Millett said.
“This work was a critical and necessary first step in preparing the 1,780-hectare Airport site for construction, given part of these power lines were running right across where the runway will be.”
TransGrid CEO Paul Italiano said that as the new underground cable was operational and testing had been successfully completed, the on-site transmission towers could be removed.
“This line plays an important role in the NSW transmission network, connecting Canberra and the Sydney metropolitan area,” Mr Italiano said.
“This project has been an Australian-first – replacing power lines of this size with an underground cable and removing transmission towers is an innovative solution that supports the benefits of the airport so it’s a great milestone for TransGrid and our lead contractor for the project, Downer, as well.”
