By rosebell
As Sydney’s first harbour road crossing in 30 years, the Western Harbour Tunnel project is advancing and the TBMs that are due to dig Sydney’s next harbour crossing are in the final stages of assembly.
With 28m high, 21m wide and 120m long, the two TBMs that are going to excavate the final section of the Western Harbour Tunnel, are being built in the launch chambers beneath Birchgrove Oval.
As the largest in the Southern Hemisphere,TBMs Patyegarang and Barangaroo are being reassembled using 500-tonne cranes.Being located up to 50m below sea level,1.5km of twin motorway tunnels between Birchgrove and Waverton will be constructed by these machines. The number of precast concrete segments manufactured at a specialist facility in western Sydney that will be used for lining the tunnels will be around 13,000.
Assembly of Patyegarang is 45% complete, with its 15.7m-diameter cutterhead, weighing 462 tonnes, lifted into position last week, whereas around 70% of the machine’s components have been transported into the launch chamber.
While the expected date for commencing tunneling under the harbour by Patyegarang is mid-year, assembly of Barangaroo is 20% complete and it is expected to begin tunneling later this year.
Overall excavation across the Western Harbour Tunnel project is now 76% complete. The 6.5km tunnel is scheduled to open to traffic in 2028.
