Westconnex: Worried your home’s structure may get damaged?
Westconnex is the largest infrastructure project Sydney has seen since the building of the Harbour Bridge in the 1920s. When completed, Westconnex will:
- Connect Sydney’s east and west with 33 kilometres of new and upgraded roads
- Cut 40 minutes off the commute from Parramatta to Sydney Airport, helping commuters bypass 52 sets of traffic lights
- Bring in $20 billion worth of economic benefits to the state
While Westconnex is meant to bring many benefits, it has already seen more than 200 properties acquired and demolished in the Inner West alone. And the cost of the project has blown from $10 billion to over $18 billion. On top of this, the lives of thousands of people living along or around Westconnex have been dramatically disrupted.
Damage caused by WestConnex
Residents living near the WestConnex project now claim the construction work is destroying their homes. Many of these stories have made national headlines. Yahoo7 reported a story in which Christine Wong Wan Po was quoted $250,000 to repair wall cracks and unstable house foundations. Her next door neighbour John English was quoted the same.
ABC reported a story in which Issa Maroun Nassrallah and his family had to live in a hotel, because Westconnex construction had made their house unsafe. In the end, Town and Country Real Estate in Merrylands estimated his home had devalued by $200,000 because of the damage brought about by Westconnex construction. Dozens more have been reported by the Daily Telegraph. The residents have all been quoted unaffordable amounts to repair their homes.
What to look out for if you live along or around Westconnex
With all the heavy machinery and vehicles moving in, out, around and under Westconnex, damage to the foundations of homes is inevitable. If you’re near Westconnex, haven’t seen your house sustain damage but worried it’s going to happen, there are a few things to look out for. The first is increased traffic volume in your area. If you happen to see a lot more trucks, excavators, loaders, bulldozers, cement mixers or cranes carrying out surface works, you can expect that the ground will be taking a pummelling.
Vibrations from these heavy vehicles causes the ground to become aerated and unstable. It gives liquids, such as rain water or water from broken drainage systems, the opportunity to seep into the ground, erode soil and create voids. It’s this that leads to subsidence of the ground. As your house sinks and shifts on unstable land, your walls and ceilings may crack. Your ceilings may even come apart from the walls.
We’re here to help
In most cases, the State Government, Sydney Motorway Company and Westconnex are denying that construction of WestConnex is causing issues. And Home and Contents Insurance policies don’t cover damage caused by nearby construction work. If you’re living in a home that feels unsafe or if you’re worried your home is about to sustain serious damage because of Westconnex, feel free to reach out.
We offer modern, innovative house foundation and ground stabilising solutions. They’ll see the foundations of your home repaired or stabilised for between $2,000 to $10,000. This is a dramatic cost difference to the $50,000 to $250,000 quoted to people who have already seen their homes damaged by Westconnex activity.
If you would like more information, give us a call on 1300 854 115 or book a FREE inspection today.
