Works on the North East Link are set to provide 10,000 jobs throughout the life of Victoria’s largest ever road project.
There are already 2200 workers on the project, including 160 apprentices, trainees and cadets. This year will see the completion of Bulleen Park & Ride, and contracts awarded for the M80 upgrade along with the first section of the Eastern Freeway overhaul.
The Victoria Government has flagged that work on the remainder of the Eastern Freeway upgrades, which will add 45km of new lanes, will be a competitive process.
Major works have resumed on the North East Link between Watsonia and Bulleen in January and the first pieces of the TBMs are being built. Five road headers are also being refurbished to dig a section of the tunnels at Bulleen.
More than 200 piles have been installed where the TBMs will begin their journey south from Watsonia. The launchbox is 40 metres deep and 200 metres long and will include an enormous amount of concrete and 1700 tonnes of steel.
North of Lower Plenty Road, crews will excavate the site to prepare for building ramps into the North East Link tunnels. And a section of Bulleen Road is being moved further west to make way for construction of the Yarra Link green bridge and major interchange connecting the upgraded Eastern Freeway to the tunnels.
2028 is expected to see the completion of the North East Link tunnels and freeway upgrades, cutting travel times up to 35 minutes and taking 15,000 trucks off local roads.
Image: Victoria Government
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.