The 58th and final invert pour marked the completion of one of the three major structures forming the SEM tunnel lining.
Since the first invert was cast in September last year, the team has delivered 118 permanent lining pours, placed more than 21,000m³ of concrete and installed close to 5,000 tonnes of reinforcement.
Forming the base of the tunnel, the inverts will be covered by backfill and connected to the top of the kickers, enabling construction of the road base layers. Tunnel kicker walls continue to be poured throughout the alignment ahead of the arch pours, with both major tunnel structures scheduled for completion in the coming months.
Last month, crews working in the SEM tunnels in Manningham completed the first tunnel arch pour.
The arch form is one of the biggest in the world – using close to 400m3 of concrete in a single pour that went for more than 20 hours to form the walls and crown of the tunnel.
From here, waterproofing and reinforcement works throughout the tunnel are ongoing, with 24,500m2 of waterproofing complete.
At Manningham, preparations are also under way at the box site ahead of the arrival of the two TBMs. Surface structural works are progressing to support the TBM gantry rails, while haul roads have been altered to enable future TBM disassembly.
TBM Gillian has completed around 4,290m, or 81%, of the southbound tunnel drive, while TBM Zelda has completed approximately 4,780m – 90% – of the northbound tube.
The two 15.6m-diameter Herrenknecht machines commenced work in August and September 2024 and were relaunched in June last year after completing the first 1.6km of tunnels to the Lower Plenty Road Interchange.
Spark consortium, comprising Webuild, GS Engineering and Construction, CPB Contractors, China Construction Oceania, Ventia, Capella Capital, John Laing Investments, DIF and Pacific Partnerships, is delivering the North East Link’s 6.5km-long twin three-lane tunnels.
The new road is scheduled to open in 2028.
