CPB Contractors has reached a significant milestone as it delivers Transurban’s West Gate Tunnel Project.
Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Vida has broken through near the entrance to the West Gate Freeway, which marks the completion of excavation for the project’s 2.8-kilometre eastbound tunnel.
The TBM completed the boring of the tunnel in just over nine months. During this time, TBM Vida excavated 600,000 cubic metres to build the tunnel, which consists of more than 1010 rings and more than 10,100 tunnel segments.
With excavation and construction of the tunnel lining complete, CPB Contractors will begin building the road deck and installing electrical and safety systems in the 2.8-kilometre alignment.
CPB Contractors is delivering the West Gate Tunnel Project in a joint venture. Design and construction works include:
- Widening the West Gate Freeway from eight lanes to 12 between the M80 Ring Road and Williamstown Road;
- A 2.8-kilometre eastbound tunnel and a 4-kilometre westbound tunnel under Yarraville;
- A new bridge over the Maribyrnong River providing an alternative to the West Gate Bridge; and
- An elevated road along Footscray Road to the Port of Melbourne, CityLink and the city’s north, and major new cycling and pedestrian paths.