Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) working on the North East Link have broken through at the Lower Plenty Road interchange site, with both having travelled 1.6 kilometres to reach the milestone.
Both TBMs have so far installed over 13,500 concrete segments to line the tunnel walls between Watsonia and Bulleen.
When complete, the twin tunnels will help to take 15,000 trucks off local roads and reduce travel times by up to 35 minutes.
Now both TBMs have broken through into the 30-metre-deep box at Lower Plenty Road, they will continue laying tunnel wall segments at the bottom of the box before relaunching underground to continue their tunnelling journey to Bulleen.
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Work is also powering ahead on the Lower Plenty Road interchange that will allow vehicles to enter and exit the North East Link tunnels at Yallambie.
Both TBMs are operating 24 hours a day thanks to a crew of 20 people, including operators, electricians, mechanics, ring builders and tunnel engineers.
TBMs Zelda and Gillian were launched in August 2024 and September 2024 respectively, with Zelda creating the northbound section of the North East Link tunnels. Gillian was launched shortly after to build the southbound section of the tunnels.
To track the progress of both TBMs, click here.
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