There was great progress digging out the area where the TBMs will be launched from near Lenola Street, Watsonia, for the North East Link – the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network. The TBMs will arrive in Australia later this year and they will be transported from the Port of Melbourne to the site in segments. Once on site, they will be assembled on a temporary platform (cradle) before being lowered by a gantry crane - over 30m high - in the launch box and launched. Assembly will take around 6 months. The 2 TBMs will work 24/7 excavating up to 15m per day. There will be major excavation and tunnelling from 2024 to 2026.
- The construction of the TBM launch area foundation in Watsonia is completed and excavation of the box is now underway.
Two big storage sheds are now also taking shape on both sides of Greensborough Road. The shed on the corner of Yallambie and Greensborough roads will house the pre-cast concrete segments that the TBMs install during their way, ensuring the tunnel is supported and watertight. The TBM will install around 125 pre-cast concrete segments each day as it makes its way south.
Winsor Reserve acoustic shed - When the TBMs start tunnelling in 2024, the dirt and rock they excavate will come to the surface on a continuous enclosed conveyor belt. The conveyor will carry it over Greensborough Road to a large - 140m long, 80m wide and 18m high - acoustic shed at Winsor Reserve, Macleod. The construction of the acoustic shed is on going. Here the dirt and rock that is removed during tunnelling will be safely loaded on to covered trucks and moved offsite.
Lower Plenty Road interchange - It's on going the construction of the diaphragm walls that will form the foundation of the ramps and tunnels for the new Lower Plenty Road interchange. A large area will be excavated to build the structures, then covered over and returned as parkland for the community.
Upcoming works at Yallambie - The northern tunnel ventilation structure will be located near Blamey Road in Yallambie. Teams are continuing to prepare the site for construction of the ventilation shaft to connect the tunnels underground to the ventilation facility.
Click here for a video flyover of the tunnel sites, here and au/36 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au.23/23.
