Humes has supported a key part of Victoria’s North East Link to create a maintenance tunnel that will service the state’s largest road project.
The local concreting company is manufacturing 4500 box culverts at its Echuca facility as part of the project. Humes has delivered around 14 concrete culverts a day for the North East Link project. Humes’ work on the project supports around 60 jobs.
The 3-metre-high by 3-metre-wide box culverts each weigh 20 tonnes and are being installed throughout the 6.5 km twin tunnels to create a service tunnel underneath the road surface, providing clear access for maintenance vehicles and staff when the tunnels open to traffic in 2028.
The two tunnel boring machines – TBM Zelda and TBM Gillian – are currently operating from Watsonia and Bulleen. Once the tunnel boring machines, each culvert can be installed. It is lifted and installed with additional concrete, which will create the service tunnel and a flat surface for roadbase to be laid at a later stage.
Humes adds alternative materials, including industrial by-products, to the cement, which lessens the environmental impact of the project.
