Tunnelling in full swing

All four of the Metro Tunnel Project’s tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are now building the project’s twin nine-kilometre rail tunnels across Melbourne, as tunnelling kicks into full gear. From the site of the new Anzac Station, 22 metres below St Kilda Rd, TBMs Millie and Alice are now tunnelling 1.7km towards the eastern tunnel entrance in South Yarra. At North Melbourne, TBMs Joan and Meg have been re-launched from the site of the new Arden Station and are carving out the 1.4km twin tunnels towards Parkville. This marks the start of peak tunnelling operations for the Metro Tunnel, and the first time all four TBMs have been operating at the same time. TBMs Joan and Meg were the first to launch in 2019 and completed the first 1.2km section of tunnels from Arden to the western tunnel entrance in Kensington earlier this year.   Pieces from the 1000-tonne TBMs were then returned to Arden Station by trucks with the rest of the TBMs pulled back through the tunnels and reassembled. Tunnelling experts then conducted the routine tests on electrical, hydraulic and mechanical systems required before relaunch. It’s a big milestone for the Metro Tunnel Project, where work is continuing at all sites in accordance with strict safety measures – supporting jobs and supplying businesses across the state through the coronavirus pandemic. Anzac Station update As TBMs Millie and Alice tunnel towards South Yarra, construction of the new Anzac Station continues. At ground level, works are continuing to complete the remaining section of the station roof, with excavation and installation of steel reinforcements underway before pouring the concrete roof slab. The 300-metre-long station is being built “top-down”, with the walls and roof built first followed by excavation underneath. This approach has been adopted to minimise disruption and keep people moving around the worksite. Works are also progressing on the new station entrance from the Shrine of Remembrance •