After 18 months, 3 mini tunnel boring machines (TBMs), 7 launch and retrieval sites, 24 maintenance holes and almost 3km of sewer lines – the Yarra East Main Sewer (YEMS) in Bulleen is now operational.
YEMS runs under Bulleen Road and is a major sewer that services thousands of homes and businesses in Melbourne’s north east.
Moving the sewer out of the way of North East Link is the largest and most complex job for the project so far.
To build the new sewer, 3 mini TBMs tunnelled up to 20m beneath Bulleen, digging 1.8km of new sewer to the east of Bulleen Road. Laser guided drills were used to dig an extra 1.5km of smaller sewers that branch off the new YEMS.
Tunnelling the sewer below ground meant we were able to reduce impacts and disruptions to the community at the surface.
With the new sewer now up and running, work has started to disconnect the old sewer under Bulleen Road and reinstate work areas, ahead of construction on the North East Link Tunnels later this year.