West Gate Tunnel moving ahead

Deep underground and high in the air, two major milestones were reached on the West Gate Tunnel Project in November.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Danny Pearson joined workers on November 5 at the outbound tunnel exit to inspect the completed underground roadway, as well as the connection between the new bridge across Maribyrnong River and Footscray’s elevated road, with the giant beams now lifted into place.

Work is continuing to join all pieces of the project together, with the main bridge over the Maribyrnong River to create a second river crossing from the west. It will span 760 metres, and feature three lanes in each direction, allowing motorists to travel from the West Gate Tunnel to CityLink and the CBD.

On top of the completed the roads, the two tunnel boring machines that built the tunnels – Bella and Vida – have finished their journeys and been dismantled, alongside the 400-tonne cranes that helped remove them from deep under the ground.

A crew of more than 250 people has worked around the clock to install almost 7 kilometres of road deck in both tunnels.

The crew will now move onto installing hundreds of kilometres of electrical and safety systems, while building the ground level ventilation system at the outbound tunnel exit and architectural timber features at its entrances.

Member for Williamstown Melissa Horne said, “I want to thank the local community for their patience while we get on with building this important project, which will cut congestion, reduce travel times and get trucks off local roads.”