Massive Tunnel Boring Machine Arrives In Melbourne

Bella, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) which arrived, is 90 metres long, 15.6 metres high and weighs 4,000 tonnes – one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. The hundreds of pieces that make up Bella will be delivered  to the West Gate Tunnel’s northern portals in Footscray, and then assembled over the coming months.

Specialised training for the West Gate Tunnel Project has now also started for more than 30 tunnel workers with a hyperbaric chamber installed onsite so workers learn about operating in pressurised conditions.

Workers will work up to 35 metres below ground level and will need to spend up to two hours depressurising before returning to the surface. Up to 20 people will work in the TBM at any one time.

These next steps come as the Andrews Labor Government also announced a $124 million contract to supply 92,200 tonnes of steel for the West Gate Tunnel Project has been awarded to Liberty.

The 92,200 tonnes of steel will be used across the West Gate Tunnel Project corridor from Docklands to Laverton to reinforce the lining of the project’s twin tunnels, bridge segments, noise walls and retaining walls.

To help meet demand for the West Gate Tunnel for the next four years, Liberty has now ramped up operations at their Derrimut facilities and employed 150 additional staff, including ex auto workers, to produce Australian steel.

Tunnel boring on the longest of the West Gate Tunnel twin tunnels will start by the middle of the year.

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