Sandstone from Sydney Metro tunnels will be repurposed to help build the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, saving taxpayers money and cutting down on waste.
More than 500,000 tonnes of sandstone will be transported from Metro tunnelling sites at Chatswood and Marrickville to the Western Sydney International site.
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 2019.
“This high-quality sandstone will be used as a high-strength foundation to support the construction of the runway, taxiways and roads on site,” Mr Millett said.
“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.
“Building the airport is one of the biggest earthmoving challenges in Australian history, but we’ve already moved more than one million cubic metres of earth across the 1,780ha site.”
The sandstone is coming from tunnel boring machines excavating the new twin railway tunnels between Chatswood and Marrickville, which are already 50 per cent complete.
Sydney Metro aims to reuse 100 per cent of crushed rock during excavation of the 15.5km twin tunnels.
Western Sydney International is on track to open for its first passengers in 2026.
