Transport Minister Andrew Constance has warned Sydneysiders to brace for further disruption in the central city as the first high-rise towers are toppled later this year for construction of the second stage of a $20 billion-plus metro train line.
His warning came after Planning Minister Rob Stokes gave approval on Tuesday for the line to go from Chatswood in Sydney's north, under Sydney Harbour and the CBD, and onto Sydenham in the south.
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Australia's biggest public transport project is given the go ahead with construction to start this year on the Sydney Metro. Vision: Nine News.
The construction of the metro line will overlap that for the $2.1 billion light rail from Circular Quay to the city's south east, which has been a major disruption because it has forced the closure of busy thoroughfares such as George Street in the CBD.
Most of the 19 buildings – some as high as 22 storeys – slated for demolition from as early as July are in and around Martin Place, and on Pitt Street near Town Hall. They include 39 Martin Place, best known as the home of high-end jeweller Tiffany & Co.
Another 17 buildings in North Sydney and Crows Nest will be torn down to allow stations to be built for the new line.
"We have made no secret of the fact we are going to disrupt people's lives very heavily in the next 24 months," Mr Constance said on Tuesday.
"Given the buildings that will need to come down in town, there are going to be additional truck movements."
About half of the 204 freehold property titles the government has earmarked for the project have been bought.
The environmental impact statement for the line from Chatswood to Sydenham prompted about 300 submissions, including those from the City of Sydney and Inner West councils urging the government to build another station on the line between Waterloo and Sydenham.
The government has not taken up the councils' suggestion.
The first stage of the metro line from Rouse Hill in the north-west to Chatswood is due for completion by 2019 at a cost of $8.3 billion, while the price tag for the second stage has been put at between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion.
Mr Constance said he hoped the cost of the second stage would be lower than forecast, and emphasised that the line carrying driverless, single-deck trains would be "an economic driver for the city".
"We are going to expect another 150,000 commuters into the CBD every day in the next 10 years," he said. "In order to be able to cater to that growth, we have got to have a metro train.
"These are the type of planning approvals that allow us to get on with the job."
The first of five boring machines will begin excavating two 15.5-kilometre tunnels by the end of this year for the line from Chatswood to Sydenham.
An environmental impact statement for the final section of the line from Sydenham to Bankstown will be released by June.
It will require the closure of the existing Bankstown line, forcing tens of thousands of commuters who travel by train to catch buses for more than six months.
Mr Constance said it was too early to say exactly how long the Sydenham-Bankstown line would be closed but the government was looking at ways to minimise the period.
"There are construction methods that could be used that can minimise it, and reduce the construction disruption by months," he said. "That is being considered at the moment."
But Deputy Opposition Leader Michael Daley said the Baird government had a poor record in procuring and delivering infrastructure that was value for taxpayer money, citing blowouts in the cost of the CBD light rail project.
"The government has still not justified the $12.5 billion they will be spending on this [second stage of the metro rail line] project," he said.
"All that we have seen on this project is a summarised business case. No options analysis has been done."