On the May's first week-end Alice, the third TBM to finish work on the Melbourne Metro’s twin tunnels, broke through at Town Hall Station after successfully digging under the Yarra. It leaves just TBM Meg to complete the final leg of the 9km tunnels from Kensington to South Yarra, with tunnelling due to finish in the coming weeks. Focus now turns to construction of the five new underground stations.
Arden Station will be the centrepiece of a massive new precinct that will be the home of Victoria’s innovation economy. The first concrete pour to build the station’s platforms has taken place, with platform construction continuing with the installation of pre-cast platform units and further concrete pours.
Legend: Metro tunnel looking west from the platform of the future Arden(North Melb) Station
The station’s internal walls are in place, construction on the roof slab is near completion and crews have begun to install mechanical, electrical and plumbing services in the station box. Earlier this year, workers installed 38 piles deep into the ground surrounding the eastern end of the station to reinforce the entrance building’s foundations.
Arden Station’s entrance will feature 15 soaring brick arches, which are being built off-site with more than 100,000 bricks laid by hand onto precast concrete, to be delivered on site over the next few months.
The huge arches spanning the entrance are a nod to the rich industrial history and character of Melbourne’s inner north. They will be made up of 52 concrete segments, each weighing 45-50 t and lined with 104,000 bricks. The bricks were manufactured in Victoria, then transported to a concrete manufacturer in South Australia where they are being laid by hand into the precast concrete segments.
Arden Station will have a direct link to the Airport in 2029 and be within walking distance of the North Melbourne Recreation Centre, Arden Street Oval and the route 57 tram, creating a transport hub.
The Metro Tunnel Project is on track to be completed by 2025. It will create capacity for more than half a million extra passengers a week during peak times across Melbourne’s train network.
Click here for a video, here and au/32 for the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.premier.vic.gov.au and https://metrotunnel.vic.gov.au/. 18/21.
