# St Helena Tunnel > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/St_Helena_Tunnel > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/St_Helena_Tunnel.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Helena_Tunnel > Source revision: 1291198073 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Road tunnel in New South Wales, Australia St Helena Tunnel St Helena Tunnel in December 2015 Interactive map of St Helena Tunnel Overview Location Ewingsdale, New South Wales, Australia Coordinates 28°39′10″S 153°32′54″E / 28.6527°S 153.5482°E / -28.6527; 153.5482 Status Open Route Pacific Highway Operation Work began 27 September 2012 Constructed Lendlease Opened 18 December 2015 Owner Transport for NSW Traffic Automotive (Cyclists and Pedestrians in side lane) Character Dual carriageway grade-separated national highway Technical Length 434 metres (1,424 ft) No. of lanes Built for 3 lanes each direction, opened as 2 northbound & 3 southbound Operating speed 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) Tunnel clearance 5.3 metres (17 ft) Width 13.3 metres (44 ft) Grade 2.2% The **St Helena Tunnel** is a twin-tube [road tunnel](/source/Road_tunnel) that forms part of the [Pacific Highway](/source/Pacific_Highway%2C_Australia) near [Byron Bay](/source/Byron_Bay), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), Australia. The 434-metre-long (1,424 ft) tunnel under St Helena Hill in the locality of [Ewingsdale](/source/Ewingsdale) was built as part of the 17-kilometre (11 mi) Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade, which involved a new alignment of the highway. ## Features The tunnel was built to avoid the steep grades of St Helena Hill on the previous alignment of the highway, and the associated heavy truck noise and pollution. At its deepest point the tunnel is 45 metres (148 ft) below the 131-metre-high (430 ft) ridge line. There are two tunnels, with the northbound tunnel accommodating two traffic lanes and the southbound three traffic lanes, due to the gradient of the highway at this point. There is also a bicycle/pedestrian lane in each tunnel.[1] The cost of the Tintenbar–Ewingsdale upgrade project was $862 million, jointly funded by the [New South Wales](/source/Government_of_New_South_Wales) and [Federal](/source/Government_of_Australia) governments.[2] It opened on 18 December 2015.[3] The remaining tie-in work at each end was completed in March 2016. The St Helena Road passes over the top of the tunnel and provides local access to the Bangalow Road (B62) that is a link between [Bangalow](/source/Bangalow) and Byron Bay.[4] ## Milestones - January 2010 – Planning approval and construction funding for the Tintenbar to Ewingsdale project including the St Helena Tunnel - May 2010 – [Roads & Maritime Services](/source/Roads_%26_Maritime_Services) called for expressions of interest for the construction of the upgrade - December 2010 – three companies were invited to submit detailed tenders - August 2011 – the contract was awarded to [Baulderstone](/source/Baulderstone)[5][6] - 27 September 2012 – the shovel ceremony was held to commemorate the start of construction - 28 May 2013 – Blasting began on the twin tunnels - 24 January 2014 – Excavator broke through on the northbound tunnel[7] - 26 February 2014 – Excavator broke through on the southbound tunnel - December 2015 – Commissioning of tunnels began - 18 December 2015 – The highway upgrade, including the twin tunnels, opened to traffic ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Environmental Assessment Submissions Report](https://web.archive.org/web/20110320235419/http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/files/36070/Submissions%20Report%20and%20Preferred%20Project%20Report.pdf) [Roads & Traffic Authority](/source/Roads_%26_Traffic_Authority) May 2009 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Planning approval given for Tintenbar-Ewingsdale Pacific Highway upgrade](https://web.archive.org/web/20111006103530/http://www.farnorthcoaster.com.au/news/7876/planning-approval-given-for-tintenbar-ewingsdale-pacific-highway-upgrade/) *Far North Coaster* 29 January 2010 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [St Helena Tunnel](https://web.archive.org/web/20250128092053/https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/northern-tunnels) [Transport for NSW](/source/Transport_for_NSW) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*3776 Pacific Highway, Tyagarah NSW 2481, Australia to Saint Helen Tunnel, Ewingsdale NSW 2481, Australia*](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/-28.5879861,153.5446912/-28.6528351,153.5483945/@-28.6542424,153.5449588,17.33z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0?hl=en) (Map). [Google Maps](/source/Google_Maps). 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Pacific Highway Tintenbar to Ewingsdale Upgrade](http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/northern-nsw/tintenbar-to-ewingsdale/index.html) Roads & Traffic Authority 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Another stage of Pacific Hwy duplication gets all clear](https://web.archive.org/web/20120322021527/http://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/articleid/75218.aspx) *[Australasian Transport News](/source/Australasian_Transport_News)* 9 August 2011 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Tunnel breakthrough a major milestone for highway upgrade](https://web.archive.org/web/20140213012817/http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/tunnel-breakthrough-a-major-milestone-for-highway-/2149660/) *[The Northern Star](/source/The_Northern_Star)* 24 January 2014 ## External links Media related to [St Helena Tunnel](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St_Helena_Tunnel) at Wikimedia Commons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [St Helena Tunnel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Helena_Tunnel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Helena_Tunnel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.