The heritage listed Australian Technology Park, located in the inner-city suburb of Eveleigh, has been undergoing an impressive transformation, bringing new life to this significant piece of Sydney history. JN provided structural engineering design for an underground sloping tunnel to house a travellator within the 120-year-old Locomotive Workshop. By doing so, patrons can utilize parking facilities within the Commonwealth Bank building, proceed along the travellator and arrive within the new retail and food precinct without traversing multiple levels and roads, vastly improving the overall user experience.

While simple in theory, this sloped tunnel required rigorous design for a shoring system, steel bridge, and a concrete tunnel structure to support the new travellator. These elements were particularly vital during the excavation and construction period to protect not only the delicate buildings in question but also the existing ancillary heritage structures. The site was stabilised by an underpinning permanent jack system to retain the foundations of the unstable site. Maintaining access during construction was also a key consideration, with the team electing to utilise a steel bridge and staging ensuring at least one side of the road was always open.

The team were thrilled to work with Mainland Civil as well as with Mirvac on this project and look forward to more unique design opportunities in the future. The travelator now sits seamlessly within the revitalised precinct used daily by workers within the commercial business district and guests to the retail and food precinct.

Photography: Jones Nicholson