NSW Government appoints contractor for enabling works on Parramatta Light Rail
Enabling works for the Parramatta Light Rail Project in Australia's second oldest city are set to commence toward the end of the year after the NSW Government announced the Diona Ward joint venture had won the contract.
The enabling works will encompass relocation of underground utilities, intersection upgrades, new traffic lights, landscaping, and changes to street lanes and parking.
The joint venture comprises Diona and Ward Civil & Environmental Engineering.
George Street, running parallel to the light rail route on Macquarie Street, will transition from a one-way street to a two-way street and O'Connell street running parallel to the route on Church Street will be widened.
Through Parramatta's CBD, the new light rail line will take over a large amount of traffic space and the enabling works will seek to cater for the major traffic changes prior to the start of construction.
These enabling works are vital to keep the city moving and to minimise disruption for the people of Parramatta. These changes, while not directly along the Parramatta Light Rail route, will provide additional capacity and connections for everyone in the CBD before, during and after the light rail construction.
Parramatta Light Rail will be fantastic for the region when it opens in 2023, with nearly 30,000 people predicted to use it every day by 2026 to reach essential services and destinations across Western Sydney.
Tim Poole, Parramatta Light Rail Program Director
Transport for NSW says the most significant change will be on George Street.
"George Street in the Parramatta CBD is set to become two-way, moving traffic through the heart of Parramatta more efficiently by redistributing traffic volumes across the local road network. O’Connell Street will also be widened to four lanes from Barney Street to Albert Street to accommodate additional traffic as an alternative to Church Street."
The Parramatta Light Rail project is broken into two phases with the enabling works package announced this week linked to the first phase.
The first phase of the project will see light rail infrastructure built in-road from Westmead through North Parramatta and the Parramatta CBD to Camellia where the light rail route will replace Sydney Trains services on the Carlingford branch.
The second phase of the project sees an extension of the network eastward to Sydney Olympic Park via Rydalmere and Wentworth Point.
In April a contract to remediate the future depot site for the light rail vehicles was awarded and contracts to supply operate and maintain the Parramatta Light Rail are currently out to tender and are expected to be awarded by the end of 2018.
The Parramatta Light Rail project is a precursor to wider public transport improvements in the region with the Sydney Metro West set to have at least two stations in the region at both Parramatta and Westmead.
Parramatta sits at the centre of the 'Central River City' in the Greater Sydney Commission's Three cities vision.
Lead image credit: parramattalightrail.nsw.gov.au