The River Torrens to Darlington (T2D) Project is celebrating two giant milestones in the $15.4 billion delivery of a non-stop South Road, with the successful transfer of the largest individual component of its first TBM as well as the official launch of the Project’s TBM naming competition.
The 9m in diameter cutterhead - arrived last 22 October in Port Adelaide by sea after successful Factory Acceptance Testing in China - was transported at the Southern Precinct site at Clovelly Park overnight using a specialised truck and trailer combination: a 25-km journey taking more than two hours to complete. It required progressive road closures with nine sets of traffic lights temporarily removed, then later reinstalled, because the cutterhead was too wide to fit through the intersection.
This is the first of two TBMs that will ultimately launch from the Southern Precinct to construct the twin 4.5km Southern Tunnels, while a third TBM will launch from the Central North Precinct at Richmond to construct the twin 2.2km Northern Tunnels. Works are also underway at the Project’s Central North Precinct. The three Herrenknecht TBMs being used on the T2D Project will be approximately 100 m in length and 15 m in diameter .The procurement of three TBMs means both the Northern and Southern Tunnels can be constructed concurrently meaning the project will be delivered by 2031.
The remaining components of the first TBM are expected to arrive by the end of 2025. The first TBM will be assembled and commissioned at the Southern Precinct ahead of tunnelling commencing in the second half of 2026.
Site preparation continues at the Southern Precinct, including the installation of diaphragm walls up to 35 m deep, forming the TBM launch box – a large open trench where the TBMs will be assembled before tunnelling begins. In this precinct, construction crews are also progressing piling, concrete slab works and haul roads to support upcoming tunnelling.
Public competition for Naming TBM
To help mark the milestone delivery, the South Australian Government has announced a public competition for South Australians to help name the T2D Projects TBMs.
The TBMs will be given female names, in line with a tradition dating back to the 1500s, when miners prayed to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers, for protection underground.
Australia has plenty of remarkable women – from local legends to renowned trailblazers throughout history – to draw upon for inspiration, and South Australians will have until 5pm on Sunday 30 November 2025 to nominate a name, with a short description of why they would be a fitting choice. Details are available here.
Click here for tunnelbuilder archive and for further information please visit https://www.t2d.sa.gov.au/ and https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/. 44/25
