By ashleykaren
The last of over 27,000 concrete segments that are being used to line Cross River Rail’s twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and CBD has now been built, marking a great milestone for the project.
Cross River Rail Delivery Authority CEO Graeme Newton stated that the segment had been cast at the Wagners Precast facility at Wacol and would be trucked to the project’s Woolloongabba site very soon.
Newton said: “This has been a mammoth operation, both in terms of construction and logistics, and has been underway for more than a year.”
“Once segments arrive at Woolloongabba, they are stockpiled on site before being taken underground and loaded into one of two massive Tunnel Boring Machines, which then use the segments to line the tunnels as they go.”
“To see the last segment ready for transport is a fantastic achievement and it brings home the fact our twin tunnels are now very nearly complete,” added Newton.
He claimed that Cross River Rail was injecting about $4 million per day into the Queensland economy, and the precast segments were a great example of how the mega project had benefitted local firms across the whole of South East Queensland.
Newton mentioned: “Wagners is one of more than 1500 Queensland subcontractors and suppliers to benefit from Cross River Rail so far, with about 110 jobs supported on-site during peak construction.”
“Not only were the segments manufactured locally, but many of the ingredients were sourced locally too – including crushed rock and sand from a Yatala quarry, fly ash from a Millmerran power station that produces it as a waste product, and reinforcing steel processed in Toowoomba.”
“That’s not to mention the numerous local businesses in the supply chain, including for plant hire, timber stacking material, general maintenance and supply of safety equipment and workwear,” continued Newton.
He asserted that the tunnel boring machines were anticipated to break through at the project’s Northern Portal by the end of the year, completing Cross River Rail’s year of tunneling.
