By Ashley Karen
Cross River Rail’s website has launched a new online tool so that the public could track the project’s mega TBMs in real time as they bore the Project’s twin tunnels under Brisbane.
Graeme Newton, Cross River Rail Delivery Authority CEO stated tunnel boring machines Merle and Else– which both weigh at 1350-tonnes – were digging the project’s twin tunnels from Woolloongabba north towards Albert Street.
At the same time, two 115-tonne roadheaders were boring the tunnels in the opposite direction from Woolloongabba towards Boggo Road.
He said: “With TBM Else and TBM Merle on their way north, and the project’s roadheaders excavating south, Cross River Rail’s year of tunnelling is well and truly underway.”
As Mr. Newton argued, the project’s new TBM Tracker revealed the project’s roadheaders and TBMs as they bored the project’s 5.9 kilometers of twin tunnels, containing how far they had already moved.
“While progress on the transformational Cross River Rail project might be obvious above ground, what might not be appreciated or understood is just the sheer scale of work taking place beneath our feet,” Mr. Newton added.
He stated each machine was equipped with sensors and trackers which fed technical information to the project team in real time.
He also asserted that: “We’ve been able to use the data the TBMs send us to add the TBM Tracker to our website, which can be viewed on either your computer or your mobile device,”.
“It means you can check out where our TBMs are, wherever you are, as they journey under the city.”
Mr. Newton mentioned that the TBMs would reach Albert Street in mid-year, before reaching to Roma Street and finally emerging at the project’s northern portal at Normanby before the end of 2021.
He described: “Our TBMs are like underground factories – they’re 165 metres long and not only are they excavating the project’s twin tunnels, but they are lining the tunnels walls with 25,000 concrete segments along the way,”.
You can find Cross River Rail’s TBM Tracker here.
