The Wynyard Walk is a
pedestrian link and
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
between
Wynyard station and
Barangaroo
Barangaroo was the second wife of Bennelong, who was interlocutor between the Aboriginal people and the early British colonists in New South Wales. Barangaroo was a member of the Cammeraygal clan. While Bennelong spent considerable time in th ...
in the
Sydney central business district. The walkway 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. An estimated 20,000 pedestrians per hour can walk through the tunnel.
In 2009, prior to construction of Barangaroo, the pedestrian tunnel was estimated to cost $100 million.
Construction
The project involved the construction of:
[Wynyard Walk](_blank)
Theiss
*a five-storey entry building to Wynyard station (three storeys below ground and two above)
*an approximately and underground fully accessible pedestrian tunnel situated approximately 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.
[
On 19 October 2015, a new pedestrian bridge over Sussex Street was opened. It provided a route onto the Napoleon Bridge directly into Barangaroo from ]Westpac Place
Westpac Place is a commercial skyscraper located in the north-western corridor of the Sydney central business district, Australia. The building is the bank's Australian headquarters.
The building was built for the Westpac Office Trust, being in ...
behind the Sussex Hotel. While some construction of the Clarenc e Street entrance and minor finishes on Wynyard Walk continued until late 2016, the tunnel is open 24 hours per day.
Following the completion of the walk, the plaza formerly known as Wynyard Plaza was renamed as the Napoleon Plaza in honour of the French convict and prominent Sydney developer, Francis Girard.
Adjoining Buildings
The Wynyard Walk connects pedestrians from Barangaroo through to Wynyard station - and continues through Wynyard Place (with exits on George Street) and on to the Hunter Connection (with exits on Pitt Street
Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sect ...
and Hunter Street).
The thoroughfare to George Street was rebuilt as part of the Wynyard Place developmen
See also
* Transport in Sydney
* Architecture of Sydney
The architecture of Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is not characterised by any one architectural style, but by an extensive juxtaposition of old and new architecture over the city's 200-year history, from its modest beginnings with local m ...
References
{{Reflist
Tunnels in Sydney
Tunnels completed in 2016
2016 establishments in Australia