By rosebell
Involving the main drive, which weighs around 370 tonnes, making it the heaviest individual component, the final shipment of components for the Torrens to Darlington project’s first TBM have arrived in Adelaide, whereas the cutterhead and tailskin for the second TBM are also contents of this package.
With the aim of being assembled and commissioned for tunneling to begin in the second half of next year, the components are due to be transported to the Project’s Southern Precinct site in Clovelly Park.
In order to transporting the centrepiece of the cutterhead for the second TBM, a specialised truck and trailer combination and overnight rolling road closures were required, while for arriving at the Southern Precinct, the thrust frame and main drive both needed smaller scale night operations, including police escort.
The the Central North Precinct at Richmond is the location of launching the third TBM, which is slated to construct the twin 2.2km Northern Tunnels, is in the final stages of Factory Acceptance Testing in China.
With A$15.4bn (US$10bn) value, the T2D Project is going to be the only major road tunnel project in Australia to use three large diameter TBMs, all manufactured by Herrenknecht.
The procurement of three TBMs means both the Northern and Southern Tunnels can be constructed concurrently.
South Australians have submitted more than 2,000 suggestions to name the three TBMs. A panel will assess the submissions and choose a shortlist for a community vote.
