Wynyard Walk

Wynyard Walk Tunnel

Wynward Walk is a pedestrian link between Wynyard station and Barangaroo in Sydney. It was officially opened on 20 September 2016. Wynyard Walk provides a quick and safe route and has increased the entry and exit capacity of Wynyard station to meet demand as Barangaroo is redeveloped. The tunnel can take 20,000 pedestrians per hour.^[1] In 2009, prior to construction of Barangaroo, the cost for the pedestrian tunnel was estimated to be $100,000,000.^[2]

The project involves the construction of:^[1][3]

• a five-storey entry building to Wynyard station (three storeys below ground and two above)
• an approximately 180-metre long and nine-metre wide underground fully accessible pedestrian tunnel 2.5 metres under existing tunnels
• a pedestrian bridge over Sussex Street
• a public plaza area, Napoleon Plaza to provide an upgraded pedestrian precinct

The construction contract was awarded to Thiess in September 2012. In early 2014, construction at the Western Portal was put on hold to allow archaeologists to work on the site to preserve significant European and indigenous artefacts unearthed during excavation.^[3][4]

On 19 October 2015, a new pedestrian bridge over Sussex Street was opened. It provides a route onto the Napoleon Bridge directly into Barangaroo from Westpac Place behind the Sussex Hotel. While some construction of the Clarence Street entrance and minor finishes on Wynyard Walk continues until late 2016, the tunnel will only be open between 05:00 and 21:00 daily.^[1][5]

A proposal for the project to be given the official moniker of Napoleon Plaza (after French convict and prominent Sydney developer Francis Girard) was lodged by the Sydney City Council in August 2016.^[6]

References