More than 6500 precast concrete segments have already been produced for the Western Harbour Tunnel project under Sydney Harbour.
Manufactured at Emu Plains by Acciona, a Concrete Institute Queensland Bronze member, this represents a significant milestone for the major transport infrastructure project.
The Western Harbour Tunnel will be a new motorway underneath Sydney Harbour which will connect the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney to Stage 1 of the project, Cove Street, Birchgrove near Rozelle, bypassing Sydney CBD.
The concrete segments will provide structural support and waterproofing for the new transport corridor. Stage 2 of the project will require more than 13,000 concrete segments, each weighing around 15 tonnes. These will line the 1.5-km section of the twin tunnels being excavated by two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) operating 50 metres below sea level.
“Reaching the halfway point confirms that production systems, workforce capability and quality controls are operating effectively at scale,” the company said. “It also signals that the supply chain is ready to maintain a continuous flow of segments to support TBM operations now that excavation has begun.”
At Acciona’s Emu Plains facility, a diverse workforce, a third of whom are women, are making sure each segment undergoes rigorous quality checks before transporting to the tunnel site. Production will continue until all segments are complete, enabling excavation to progress unimpeded.
Image: The Emu Plains facility is producing more than 13,000 precast concrete segments for the Western Harbour Tunnel project. Source: Acciona.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia, at the helm since December 2013, and our weekly news writer since 2016. Her expertise in this field forms part of a journalism career spanning three decades. To get in touch please email desi@corbettcomms.com