Testing the ground for Australia's record breaking tunnels

摘要

The West Gate Tunnel project is the largest diameter bored excavation project ever undertaken in the southern hemisphere. Two huge boring machines will create twin tunnels between the West Gate Freeway and the Maribyrnong River, taking trucks and motorists underground en route to the port. They'll provide a much-needed second river crossing, helping to remove thousands of service vehicles from residential streets. Construction is expected to take four years at an estimated cost of A$5.5 bn. The work will generate 2 million cubic metres of spoil from the creation of 6km of tunnels and road upgrades. The investigation alone required a team 200 strong, including six drilling crews, and the entire undertaking will generate 6,000 jobs. Globally renowned Geotechnical services firm, Golder Associates, were engaged by Transurban, (who partnered with the Victorian Government to build the tunnel), to undertake an assessment of the tunnel project. For the first time, Golder used ground engineering 3D dynamic modelling solution Leapfrog Works to assess geological risk and communicate that risk to a variety of stakeholders as well as to convey information to design and build tenderers.