Two-year Waterview tunnelling process begins
7 November 2013Eighteen months into its five-year construction programme, the Waterview Connection project is ready to start tunnelling, it was announced recently.
The project is ready to bore on the date set 18 months ago. The New Zealand Government stated that this puts the project on the right path for the successful completion of the Waterview Connection in early 2017.
Gerry Brownlee, transport minister, said: ³The start of tunnelling marks the completion of what has been complex works to prepare the boring machine for tunnelling. Each of these work packages was a major project in itself, involving significant challenges and risks.²
The TBM, named Alice, will excavate twin 2.4km tunnels under Avondale and Waterview. As Alice bores its way to Waterview and back over the next two years, it will remove 800,000cu.m of spoil and position 2404 tunnel lining rings, each comprising 10 pre-cast reinforced segments.
