By rosebell
A few hours apart, TBMs Jessie and Ruby working on Sydney Metro West have broken through at the Pyrmont metro station cavern.
While completing one of the most complex digs on the project, the location of commencing these machines’ journey was The Bays precinct in May 2024, and currently they are just over 1km away from their final stop in the Sydney CBD at the future Hunter Street station.
Running beneath Johnstons Bay and through the complex geographical ground of the Luna Park Fault Zone, the tunnel between The Bays and Pyrmont comes within 25m of the Anzac Bridge.
As the second double TBM breakthrough for the Sydney Metro West project, the TBMs broke through within five hours of each other.
With the aim of linking the project to Hunter Street in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, Jessie and Ruby are due to start their final stretch of tunneling under Darling Harbour after a five-week pit stop 24m underground.
Considering advance of the work to transform the western harbour foreshore, planning approval granted for a mixed-use precinct at Pyrmont and a31-storey development above the station will provide 160 residential apartments and five levels of commercial and retail space.
Once the new Pyrmont metro precinct would be inaugurated in 2032, Sydney Metro West will connect Pyrmont to Hunter Street in just two minutes and on the doorstep of Darling Harbour and the new Sydney Fish Market, it will provide better connection to the harbourside suburb.
According to minister for transport John Graham: “TBMs Ruby and Jessie are doing a smashing job delivering this complex section of tunnels into Pyrmont. These tunnels will form what will be a critical public transport connection between the Sydney CBD and the Parramatta CBD. Pyrmont’s new metro station precinct will be a dynamic hub and play a key role in supporting the transformation of Sydney’s western harbourside into a growing entertainment destination. Sydney Metro West is more than just a transport project – along with moving hundreds of thousands of passengers each day, it will deliver up to 1,600 well-located homes within its station precincts.”
