Low carbon concrete mixes are being delivered at Boral’s local concrete operation for the West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne.
The twin tunnels, which will provide an alternative to the congested West Gate Bridge, are the largest of their kind by diameter in the Southern Hemisphere and are 4 km and 2.8 km long.
Boral is working on the project with main contractors CPB and John Holland Joint Venture to deliver the project for Transurban.
“Over at our West Melbourne concrete operation, the team has been busy delivering various high durability, low-carbon concrete mixes to the tunnel portal structures and the elevated roadway section of the project,” the company stated.
“Low-carbon concrete and the use of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash in place of cement have helped to significantly improve the project’s sustainability credentials.”
Roadway support corbels inside the tunnel are being installed using the company’s high-durability steel fibre-reinforced concrete, a unique solution they say which requires a tight quality management regime.
At present, 200,000 vehicles use the West Gate Freeway and West Gate Bridge every day along with 9000 heavy vehicles on suburban streets. The completed project will see a new lane configuration of three collectors/distributors as well as three express lanes in both directions and tunnels under Yarraville, elevated structures on Footscray Road and across the Maribyrnong River.
The West Gate Tunnel Project is due for completion in 2025 and is expected to transform commuter times, cutting trips from the city’s west by 20 minutes and simplifying the journey.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.