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Two of the largest tunneling machines in existence are getting ready to embark on a long journey from China to Sydney. Their task is to construct the city’s second harbour road tunnel.
A job triple the size of the metro means much bigger hardware and 9News can reveal the monster machines for the first time.
Currently, these colossal tunnel boring machines, which are the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, are being disassembled in China. They are being prepared for their mission to dig the Western Harbour Tunnel under Sydney Harbour.
Each machine will excavate a tunnel spacious enough to accommodate three lanes of traffic, completing the underwater stretch of the Western Harbour Tunnel that runs from Birchgrove to Waverton.
Camilla Drover, Deputy Secretary Infrastructure Projects and Engineering for Transport for NSW explained how it’s set to be a much higher tech process than was used 30 years ago constructing the first harbour tunnel.
“They not only cut and excavate, they line the tunnel as they go, so 10 concrete segments will form a full ring for each segment so that 13000 concrete slabs,” she said.
“We actually made concrete tubes and had to float them in and dredge the harbour and drop them into place.”
The machines are due to arrive at Glebe Island in the next few months.
It will then take another couple of months to re-build both machines underground in their launch chambers.
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Once they start, they won’t stop, tunnelling 24/7 with 40 people on shift at all times.
The historic journey is expected to take around a year to complete.
Finishing touches are expected in 2028, connecting the city’s north to the inner west.
“It will cut travel times but most important thing we will ease congestion and lose that frustration,” Aitchison said.
