West Gate Tunnel TBMs dismantled
13 November 2023The two TBMs that built Melbourne’s twin West Gate Tunnels have been dismantled and all of the underground roadway installed.
Nearly 7km of road deck has been installed across both tunnels, with more than 250 people working underground 24/7 to complete the job.
CPB Contractors and John Holland JV completed tunnelling in May, having employed two Herrenknecht EPBMs.
A 400-tonne crane has lifted the final pieces of TBM Bella’s 15.6m-wide cutterhead out of the outbound tunnel exit, and TBM Vida has been dismantled at the inbound entry near Williamstown Road in the West Gate Freeway.
The gantry crane used to remove TBM Vida has also been dismantled. It took nine days to complete the operation.
Crews will now continue to fit out the tunnels, installing hundreds of kilometres of electrical and safety systems, while at ground level work is progressing on the ventilation systems at the westbound portal and the installation of the timber net structures.
Bella and Vida were the largest TBMs in the Southern Hemisphere – each with a 15.6m diameter, 90m long and weighing 4,000 tonnes.
West Gate is the first Australian tunnel to be constructed with an elevated road surface, providing another tunnel underneath for maintenance of critical services, ventilation and emergency access.
Due to open in late 2025, it is designed to ease congestion on the West Gate Freeway and West Gate Bridge, and reduce the number of trucks on residential streets.
