It’s goodbye for the Anzac Station acoustic shed

You may have noticed some changes at the Metro Tunnel’s Anzac Station site on St Kilda Rd.

Crews are now dismantling the large, green acoustic shed which has been on the site for the past two-and-a-half years.

This will make way for the next phase of construction – building out the station’s upper levels and entrance, and the new integrated tram interchange.

Crews installed the acoustic shed – which was 75 metres long, 30 metres wide and 21 metres high – in September 2019 to contain noise, dust and light from round-the-clock construction happening underground.

Around 400,000 tonnes of rock and soil has been transported from the site to excavate the station box, which is more than 20 metres below ground at its deepest point.

With major tunnelling now complete, construction is moving towards fitting out the tunnels and finishing the five underground stations.

The first phase of removing the Anzac shed was recently completed, with the roof dismantled by hand. Three gantry cranes, which were used to lower concrete tunnel lining segments down to the tunnel boring machines, were also removed.

The next step is for a specialist team to use long-reach excavators with hydraulic shears to remove the remaining shed cladding, then cut and remove the steel frame. The shed removal will take around six weeks in total and is expected to be finished in March.

After the shed comes down, the concrete working surface and temporary backfill underneath will be removed, revealing the permanent station roof below. The station roof will be waterproofed and utility services installed above it before it is then permanently covered.

Crews will then put the finishing touches on the new tram interchange above the station, including laying tram tracks in their permanent alignment. The tram tracks and traffic lanes have been realigned twice already during the project to allow cars and trams to keep using the road while the station is being built below.

Work is busily continuing underground too, with preparations underway to build the station platforms. Workers are fitting out the station with mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment, and building internal walls. The concrete floor slab inside the tunnels is now complete, ready for rail tracks to be laid on top.

Almost 40,000 people a day are expected to use Anzac Station when it opens in 2025. It will ease the pressure on the St Kilda Rd/Swanston St tram route – the busiest tram route in the world – and provide train access to major destinations like the Shrine of Remembrance, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the St Kilda Rd business precinct for the first time •

For more information: metrotunnel.vic.gov.au