Brisane, Australia, is investing big time in developing the capacities of its suburban highways. By building a tunnel network linking the city’s main growth areas, the goal is to reduce congestion on traffic routes above ground. Constituents of this mega-project are the "Clem Jones Tunnel" ("North-South Bypass Tunnel", 2 x Herrenknecht Double Shield TBM) and the "Legacy Way" ("Northern Link", 2 x Herrenknecht Double Shield TBM).
The third project is the "Airport Link East-West Tunnel". As an extension of the Clem Jones Tunnel it should shorten the drive between the city and airport. The S-512 ("Sandy") and S-514 ("Rocksy") Earth Pressure Balance Shields for the Airport Link, each with a diameter of 12.45 meters, are the largest machines to have tunnelled in Australia to date. Both shields are excavating a road tunnel of almost 2.5 kilometers in length. The two machines started tunnelling in July and August 2010 respectively.
Apart from the two XXL machines, the offer package also included products from H+E Logistik (belt conveyor for muck transport), Herrenknecht Formwork (segment moulds) and VMT (measurements and navigation). After just twelve months, Rocksy reached her target on July 4, 2011, her sister Sandy achieving the same just two days later on July 6. The new tunnel will revolutionize traffic in northern Brisbane, announced Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh on the breakthrough in July. She thanked the site teams for keeping to schedule and budgets. One year later, in July 2012, the tunnel was put into operation.
