By Lynda Myer
The Anzac Station is currently under construction on St. Kilda Road.
The cut and cover method, using the ‘top down’ approach, is the main method which will be used for the construction of this station.
The walls of the station will be built into the ground through a series of diaphragm walls, or D-walls. The top few meters of the station box, will be excavated by digging tools, as soon as setting the walls of the station. The roof of the station box will be built using a new permanent concrete slab at this level. Once the roof is located, an impermanent acoustic shed will be installed over the northern end of the station box and digging of the station will take place 24/7 under the roof slab and acoustic shed.
Some of the construction activities in south of the Yarra River will also be supported by Anzac Station. In May 2020 the Millie and Alice, two tunnel boring machines, were assembled independently from Anzac Station. While the Millie broke through at the eastern tunnel entrance in South Yarra in September 2020, the Alice broke through in October 2020.
Before re-launching the TBMs for starting excavation towards the new underground station at the southern end of Swanston Street, TBMs will be carried back to Anzac Station.
Significant construction activities for Anzac Station include:
- Tree protection and removal
- Relocation of underground services such as water, sewerage, gas, power and telecommunications
- Establishment of the tunneling support site at Edmund Herring Oval
- Reconfiguration of Kilda Road to allow traffic, trams and cyclists to keep flowing around the construction site
- TBM launch and support site
- Excavation of the station box and construction of a diaphragm wall
- TBM launch
- Structural works including the station entrance connections
The trucks and other construction traffic, will be transferred straightly between the site and Kings Way/CityLink using the construction traffic routes for the St. Kilda Road extent.
Construction forecast 2020/2021
A five years’ period is expected for the construction activities in the Anzac Station precinct. Maybe, the Surface disruption will be shorter than the overall construction time. Project wide rail systems installation will occur after this. Melbourne’s complicated ground conditions and the scale and complexity of the Metro Tunnel construction, cause the expected timelines for this project. Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) and the construction contractors will effort to render the project to Victorians as early as possible while sustaining the highest safety and quality standards.
