The first of the two massive tunnel boring machines that will dig the West Gate Tunnel will begin its journey to Melbourne next week.
The steel frame is going up for the 90m x 180m spoil shed at the Yarraville tunnelling hub site, while work is also well underway at the northern portal site to build the tunnel entrance, where the two TBMs will be launched.
The massive TBMs will be 90 metres long, weighing up to 4,000 tonnes each and standing 15.6 metres in diameter – as tall as the top of the dome at Flinders Street Station.
The first TBM will arrive early next year. It will be the first time a full-scale TBM has been used in Victoria.
The first TMB to arrive is named Bella, after Bella Guerin, the first woman to graduate from an Australian University. The second TBM will be called Vida, after Vida Goldstein one of the first women ever to run for Parliament.
Two huge retaining walls have been built either side of the tunnel site, with around 1000 support columns driven into the ground to help keep workers safe on site.
Crews are installing a steel structure inside the huge launch site to provide additional support for the retaining walls which in turn supports the soil at the sides.
To assemble the TBMs, some of the largest gantry cranes ever built in Australia, with up to 500 tonnes lifting capacity, will be used.
Spoil from the tunnel will be moved from the TBM to the spoil shed via a covered conveyor, where it will be safely loaded onto covered trucks inside the shed.
The West Gate Tunnel Project will provide a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge, reducing travel times, taking trucks off local roads and creating 6,000 new jobs for Victoria.