Acoem sets the standard for air quality monitoring in Sydney's WestConnex M8

10 July 2020

Image courtesy of WestConnex, Transurban

Nine-kilometre-long, twin underground motorway tunnels that run from the end of the M5 Motorway at Kingsgrove to St Peters Interchange in Sydney’s South were recently opened.

As Australia’s population grows and existing road infrastructure becomes more congested, urban planners are increasingly turning to underground road tunnel networks to support smart city and regional expansion. Under stringent government regulations, all underground motorway tunnels require the inclusion, operation and maintenance of three specific air quality monitoring functions — sensors inside the tunnel, ventilation outlets and ambient locations around the tunnel.

The WestConnex M8 is the first tunnel project in Australia that incorporates Acoem air quality monitoring hardware for all three regulatory components – in-tunnel air quality sensors and ambient and ventilation outlet monitoring stations. In addition, Acoem Australasia has been contracted to provide ongoing maintenance and data validation for air quality monitoring on behalf of WestConnex | Transurban, the tunnels’ owner and concession operator.

Acoem has supported the tunnel delivery contractor — CPB Contractors Dragados Samsung Joint Venture — since the project’s inception in 2014. Acoem’s 45+ years of domestic and international expertise in designing, operating and maintaining air quality monitoring systems for in-tunnel and ambient applications was key to its selection as the exclusive provider of air quality systems for this project.

Acoem’s network of air quality monitoring systems helps ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of motorists and communities in neighbouring areas while providing the most effective solution for regulatory compliance.

This is the first time that a road tunnel project has exclusively integrated Acoem’s tunnel sensor and air quality monitoring solutions together to create a seamless solution for all aspects of monitoring from initial planning, through construction phase and testing all the way to operations and maintenance contracts,” commented Michael Preston, Strategic Business Development Manager, Acoem Australasia.

This united team approach is just one example of how we work collaboratively on a global scale to give our customers the advantage of combined expertise and knowledge in environmental monitoring technologies for tunnel infrastructure,” he added.

For more information about Acoem’s global expertise in road tunnel air quality monitoring systems, please visit our website or for more information about the WestConnex M8, visit www.westconnex.com.au

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