Canning Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Canning Tunnel was constructed between 1973 and 1975 to link Canning Dam
to Perth's
Integrated Water Supply System. It was built to replace the Canning Contour Channel
which was a depression era public works project of the 1940s and constructed in conjunction with the opening of the dam.
The tunnel originates just west of Canning Dam and runs for approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) through the granite Darling Scarp
to the western portal trunk main in Soldiers Road about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) South of the Brookton Highway
intersection. It measures 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) x 2.7 m. A separate 910 millimetres (35.8 in) pipeline from Canning Dam remains. The tunnel is more than 120 metres (393.7 ft) below ground level at its deepest point.
110 men were employed in the first year of construction after which the workforce reduced to 60. The tunnel was built at a cost of $3.5 million and was officially opened in 1975 by Hon. D. H. O'Neil MLA the Minister for Works and Housing on Friday 17 January 1975.
The Canning Contour Channel was maintained and partially operated for two years after the tunnel's opening as a precautionary measure.
Canning Dam
The Canning Dam and reservoir provide a major fresh water resource for the city of Perth, Western Australia. The dam is situated on the Darling Scarp and is an impoundment of the Canning River. It is noted for its innovative structural and hydraulic design that was considered to be at the forefront...
to Perth's
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
Integrated Water Supply System. It was built to replace the Canning Contour Channel
Canning Contour Channel
The Canning Contour Channel is a series of made-made concrete channels and steel and cast iron pipelines in the Darling Scarp in Western Australia constructed between July 1935 and December 1936...
which was a depression era public works project of the 1940s and constructed in conjunction with the opening of the dam.
The tunnel originates just west of Canning Dam and runs for approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) through the granite Darling Scarp
Darling Scarp
The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north-south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia...
to the western portal trunk main in Soldiers Road about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) South of the Brookton Highway
Brookton Highway
Brookton Highway is a 504 kilometre long undivided single carriageway highway in Western Australia, running from the southern Perth suburb of Kelmscott, through Westdale, to the southern Wheatbelt town of Brookton...
intersection. It measures 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) x 2.7 m. A separate 910 millimetres (35.8 in) pipeline from Canning Dam remains. The tunnel is more than 120 metres (393.7 ft) below ground level at its deepest point.
110 men were employed in the first year of construction after which the workforce reduced to 60. The tunnel was built at a cost of $3.5 million and was officially opened in 1975 by Hon. D. H. O'Neil MLA the Minister for Works and Housing on Friday 17 January 1975.
The Canning Contour Channel was maintained and partially operated for two years after the tunnel's opening as a precautionary measure.