Workers have started clearing the site where tunnelling will begin. They will dig down more than seven storeys, clearing the way for the project’s two massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs).
The project contract was awarded to Hochtief’s CPB Contractors and John Holland in December 2017 and the TBM was ordered this month (links open in new tabs).
When they’re launched in 2019, the two TBMs will tunnel towards the West Gate Freeway, moving 9m per day and installing a concrete lining behind it.
Another work site will be established nearby later this year, with the two sites connected by an elevated heavy-duty, covered conveyor belt. The conveyor will transport materials from the TBM excavation to large sheds, to be loaded onto covered trucks and removed from the site.
The two sites will be home to more than 500 workers – part of 6,000 jobs created on this massive project.
More project sites will be established in the inner west over the coming months as work gets under way to widen the West Gate Freeway and move utilities including gas pipes, sewers and drains to make way for the tunnel.
The West Gate Tunnel is due to open in 2022.
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