First Forrestfield TBM makes final breakthrough
25 February 2020Australia – The first TBM mining the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth has broken through. ‘Grace’ broke through into the Bayswater dive structure in February and will be followed by ‘Sandy’ in May, which is tunnelling the typical three-months behind the lead machine. The contractor is the Salini Impregilo-NRW JV.
In late July 2017, TBM Grace set off from Forrestfield to Bayswater, building one of two tunnels that will house the AUD 1.86bn (USD 1.23bn) project's rail lines. On the way the machine passed through Airport Central and Redcliffe Station boxes. It will now be dismantled and lifted out of the dive structure to make way for the next machine.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said, "This is a huge milestone for Metronet and the end of a very long journey for TBM Grace. Where once there was dirt, sand, rocks and tree roots, now sits the foundation for our new railway.”
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti added, "This is a proud moment for Western Australia workers, who have just finished the longest rail tunnel ever attempted in Western Australian history. We started tunnelling on the Forrestfield-Airport Link project in late July 2017 and we now eagerly anticipate the safe arrival of TBM Sandy in coming months to mark the completion of tunnelling.
"With the end of tunnelling in sight, work is continuing on important infrastructure components such as station construction and fit out and readying the tunnels for track laying. The precision engineering it has taken for this machine to tunnel 8km, through varying and sometimes challenging soil types, to break through in exactly the right spot is truly remarkable.”
The project is featured in the March 2020 issue of Tunnels and Tunnelling International.
