Sandstone excavated from Sydney Metro tunnels will go towards building the new Western Sydney International airport.
Sydney Metro aims to recycle 100 per cent of the crushed rock it excavates from the 15.5-kilometre twin tunnels between Chatswood and Marrickville.
More than 500,000 tonnes of sandstone will be transported from the Metro tunnelling sites to the site of the Western Sydney Airport.
Western Sydney Airport Chief Executive Officer, Graham Millett, said more than 148,000 tonnes of sandstone has already been transported to the Airport site since May.
“This high-quality sandstone will be used as a high-strength foundation to support the construction of the runway, taxiways and roads on site,” Millett said.
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“This is a great example of how we can make the most of Sydney’s infrastructure boom to not only save taxpayer funds but also cut down on waste.
“It’s about sustainability and efficiency, reusing resources and reducing carbon emissions.
Tunnel boring machine (TBM) Mabel recently broke through at the Crows Nest Station site after tunnelling for around three kilometres from Chatswood.
It followed the breakthrough of TBM Wendy, which had arrived around four weeks earlier.
TBM Mabel has excavated around 290,000 tonnes of sandstone and shale, which is enough to fill 45 swimming pools.
Tunnelling for the Sydney Metro Marrickville to Chatswood is 50 per cent complete.
“Building the Airport is one of the biggest earthmoving challenges in Australian history, but we’ve already moved more than 1 million cubic metres of earth across the 1780-hectare site,” Millett said.
Western Sydney Airport expects to open for its first passengers in 2026.