Breakthrough under Port Melbourne

Global News

Publishing Date: 06 Jul 2010 2:23pm GMT
Author: World Tunnelling

TBM-driven tunnels

The first tunnel breakthrough has been achieved on a US$220 million project to replace a century-old sewer pipeline under Melbourne’s inner suburbs. The 100m long TBM has been tunnelling under Port Melbourne for the past 10 months and completed its journey on June 28, breaking through into the access shaft at Swallow Street.

The TBM created a tunnel 1.2km in length, which is about half of the stretch needed to replace a 2.3km stretch of Melbourne’s sewer network from Port Melbourne to Docklands. It will now be removed from the shaft at Swallow Street to begin the second tunnel drive from Fennell Reserve, Port Melbourne, north towards the Yarra River.

Project director, Phil Corluka, says: "The TBM navigated its way through challenging geological conditions, ranging from strong basalt rock to Coode Island silt which is a soft clay material that made steering the machine difficult.

"The Melbourne Main Sewer Replacement is a critical piece of infrastructure that will meet the demands of the city’s growing population for the next century. The original sewer was built in the 1890s and while it has served the city and inner suburbs well, it needs to be replaced due to its age and capacity to keep up with urban development."

The Melbourne Main Sewer Replacement is being constructed by John Holland on behalf of Melbourne Water and the project will be completed in 2012.