North East Link design update
16 October 2018Australia – The North East Link Authority (NELA) has released a design update following a public consultation. The North East Link, a road project in Melbourne will involve more than 6km of underground road, to make it Victoria’s longest road tunnel.
NELA has announced that the construction for the North East Link is expected to start in 2020, after planning approvals expected towards the end of 2019.
Tunnels will stretch continuously from the suburbs of Watsonia to Bulleen in northeast Melbourne, at a depth of up to 40m from the surface.
Twin 15.7m-diameter TBM tunnels will connect to 0.4km-long, 21m-wide SEM tunnels and then 2.7km of cut-and-cover tunnels.
The tunnels will be located in a variety of ground conditions ranging from river alluvium to Melbourne mudstone. To minimise the surface disruption, the tunnels will traverse beneath established residential and commercial areas, as well as the culturally and ecologically significant Yarra River Valley.
