To create the space needed to build the 6.5km North East Link road tunnels, around 5 million tonnes of dirt and rock needs to be excavated by tunnel boring machines (TBMs).
As the TBMs dig underground, excavated dirt and rock is moved via an enclosed conveyor system that crosses high above Greensborough Road to a fully enclosed shed at Winsor Reserve. Inside the shed, the dirt will be safely loaded onto trucks, which are covered, sealed, and have their wheels hosed before leaving site.
Most of the dirt and rock we’re digging out of the ground to build North East Link is very deep underground and is natural material that can be re-used.
The project has carried out the most comprehensive program of site investigations ever on a major Victorian project – with 11,500 soil and rock samples from over 2,700 locations across the entire project alignment including samples at tunnel depth. This gives the project team a clear understanding of the types of dirt and rock to be excavated and what we can do with it.
More than 1.5 million tonnes of dirt excavated by North East Link has already been reused on our other sites, or on other transport projects and new housing estates.
With tunnelling set to start soon, a contract has been awarded to Lantrak to re-use a significant amount of dirt from the North East Link tunnels to rehabilitate a former quarry at Point Wilson and the former Orica site in Deer Park.
Learn more about the North East Link tunnels.