Melbourne’s $11.1bn North East Link is a step closer to tunnelling as segments of the first of the project’s two Herrenknecht 15.6m diameter TBMs has been lowered into the ground – as the project gets ready to dig the 6.5km long twin road tunnels.
The assembly is taking place at the TBM launch box in Watsonia, where two of the largest TBMs in the southern hemisphere will start digging the tunnels in mid-2024.
From mid-2024, the TBMs will start working their way south from Watsonia toward Bulleen, installing tunnel lining made of almost 44,000 individual concrete segments manufactured locally in Benalla.
Across the north-east, a massive amount of work is underway to prepare for tunnelling. The 200m long TBM launch box in Watsonia is complete, and work has started on the underground box structures near Lower Plenty and Manningham roads where the TBMs will excavate into on their journey south.
The machines will be driven by the Spark Consortium, which was awarded the contract to deliver the North East Link Tunnels towards the end of 2021. The consortium comprises WeBuild, CPB Contractors, GS Engineering and Construction, China Construction Oceania, Ventia, Capella Capital, John Laing, DIF and Pacific Partnerships.
The North East Link is the largest private‐public partnership (PPP) for an infrastructure project in Australia, one with a strong element of sustainability that will provide an essential link in the city’s freeway network, reducing congestion and travel times for tens of thousands of motorists. It will take 15,000 trucks off local roads every day and reduce travel times by up to 35 minutes for commuters
The North East Link is slated for an 2027/2028 opening.
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