By rosebell
TBM CREG 1459, with 15.7m-diameter being manufactured by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG), is one of two TBMs that is due to build Sydney’s Western Harbour Tunnel and has passed its Factory Acceptance Test.
As the largest-diameter TBM to be exported from China, this slurry TBM is 113m long and features technology such as an automated cutting tools-changing robot, said to be five to eight times faster than manual changing; segment handling and semi-automatic assembly systems; and real-time monitoring of disc cutter wear as well as grouting efficiency.
Creating a western bypass of the Sydney CBD, the Western Harbour Tunnel, which is part of the NSW government’s biggest-ever infrastructure program, is going to take pressure off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor corridors to improve transport capacity in and around Sydney Harbour.
Linking to WestConnex at the Rozelle Interchange, crosses underneath Sydney Harbour between Birchgrove and Waverton, it connects with the Warringah Freeway near North Sydney via a 6.5km tunnel with three lanes in each direction.
With an S-shaped alignment, this tunnel’s depths is 52m beneath sea level, and is slated to pass through complex geological formations including sandstone, silt, and clay, with compressive strengths up to 80 MPa.
In order to connecting the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade, a roadheader broke through on Western Harbour Tunnel stage 2 in March.
