29 February 2024
Construction works at the northern entry and exit point for the tunnels on Whitehall Street
When we'll be working
Ongoing work, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, within tunnel construction site on Whitehall Street and surrounding areas.
The West Gate Tunnel Project will be continuing work in 2024 at the ‘northern portal’ (the northern entry/exit point for the tunnels) on Whitehall Street and throughout Yarraville. These activities include tunnel mechanical, electrical and instrumentation installation, cross passage construction as well as continuing to buildventilation structure, substation and freeway control centre.
What to expect and when
| Impact | Date |
|---|---|
Nightworks (9pm to 5am) at the northern portal.These works will support tunnelling activities and include vehicle movement and deliveries of concrete segments. Ongoing ground water monitoring may also be carried out around Yarraville at night. | Ongoing |
| Construction vehicle movements in the area, 24/7, including trucks accessing site via Whitehall Street and surrounds. | Ongoing |
| Minor noise from construction works, including nightworks. | Ongoing |
| Occasional lane closures on local Yarraville roads. Details will be available at the Big Build Disruptions webpage | Ongoing |
| Occasional night-time lighting. | Ongoing |
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Northern portal at Whitehall Street
We’re continuing construction at our northern portal site along Whitehall Street between Youell Street and Somerville Road.
The portal continues to be a significant area of construction for teams accessing the tunnel for lighting, singage and technology system installation and cross passsage construction, with ongoing activities to take place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We will be completing the portal roof deck which acts as the ground floor for the ventilation structure. These works include concrete pours,installation of precast concrete units, steel fixing and waterproofing.
You might notice minor construction noise from the site and truck movements to and from the site.
Northern portal ventilation structure
Work to build the ventilation structure inside the northern portal continues.
When completed, the ventilation structure will stand around 50m tall.
Works include pouring concrete to form the walls of the structure as well as installing precast concrete segments. Once the walls have been built, we will begin placing the steel frame and architectural panels on the outside of the concrete walls.
Freeway control centre construction
Construction continues to build the freeway control centre (FCC) at the northern portal site. This building will operate the West Gate Tunnel once it has opened to traffic. This building will be the operations centre for the West Gate Tunnel.
These works include ongoing concrete works, installing steel structure for the car park, cladding, skylight glazing works and services fit out
Substation construction
Works continue for the construction of the substation, which will power the tunnels’ electrical, mechanical and instrumentation components.This includes concrete pours, putting up steel structures, and precast installation.
Road establishment from Lyons Street
Works between Youell and Lyons Street to construct the area near the tunnel connection and the bridge over the Maribyrnong River is underway. These works will include asphalting and roadworks at the end of Lyons St and Youell St.
Surrounding properties will continue to be updated as these works progress.
Harris Street walking and cycling path works
We will continue building the elevated walking and cycling path along Harris Street. It will go over Whitehall Street and into the new recreation area near the northern entry and exit of the tunnel.
These works will include pavement upgrades, crosshead construction, lifting precast beams for bridge construction, cladding, and balustrading.
Ongoing works in the tunnel
Since the Tunnel Boring Machine has been removed, works within the tunnel continue to take place.
These works include outfitting the tunnel and constructing the cross passages which are smaller, pedestrian sized tunnels that provide safe access between the two road tunnels. We are also installing the lighting and road technology systems within each of the tunnels.
Ongoing monitoring in Yarraville
You may see our team carrying out water sampling as part of our regular groundwater monitoring requirements to confirm that ground water movement is as expected. This is common for tunnel construction areas.
You may also see the ground monitoring team around local streets and parks installing further monitoring equipment.
These works may include traffic changes for drivers on local roads and occasional nightworks, with minimal noise impacts to surrounding residents and businesses. We’ll be in touch if any work may be disruptive.
More detail on what you can expect during these works:
- Construction vehicles will be moving in and out of the area including excavators, concrete trucks, cranes and rollers.
- Minor vibration and noise may be experienced during these works.
- Water-spray trucks and road sweepers will be used in local streets around our worksites, keeping local roads clean during construction.
- Changes in traffic conditions may be experienced during these activities.
- Lighting will be angled away from homes wherever possible while our teams work at night to avoid impact to residents.
Thank you
We appreciate our work can be disruptive and thank you for your understanding. Works may be rescheduled in the event of unexpected impacts.
Contact us
For updates or questions, you can:
- call 1800 105 105
- email us at info@wgta.vic.gov.au
- visit our website or
- you can drop into our Information Centre at 2 Somerville Road, Yarraville 3013 Monday–Friday 10am–5pm or Saturday 10am–4pm for further information on the project.
Learn more
Read about the new tunnels that will connect the West Gate Freeway with Footscray Road.