Sustainability

LED Lights

NorthConnex will use more than 5,500 LED lights in place of traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) or fluorescent lighting technology to reduce electricity consumption by 18 per cent annually. This innovation equates to an overall reduction in carbon emissions of approximately 350 tonnes during the first year of operation alone.

Variable Speed Drive Fans

The installation of variable speed drive (VSD) fans allows the speed of the fans to be adjusted based on the number of cars travelling through the tunnel. Using VSD fans instead of direct online fans representing a total energy savings of 44 per cent.

Air Quality Improvement

The NorthConnex project will reduce the total amount of vehicle emissions discharged into the atmosphere by providing a free-flowing motorway alternative to Pennant Hills Road. Improvements in air quality will be achieved by:

• Avoiding stop-start traffic congestion. Heavy vehicles will emit up to 80 per cent less carbon monoxide, 70 per cent less oxides of nitrogen and 70 per cent less particulate matter.
• Reducing overall travel times along the motorway.
• Managing and dispersing vehicle emissions through an effective ventilation system that does not re-circulate air from one tunnel to another.
• Specific ventilation modes developed to manage breakdown, congested and emergency situations.
• Designing the road with flat gradients to help reduce vehicle emissions.
• Increasing the height of the tunnel to prevent incidents blocking the tunnel.