Excavation has begun at the future site of Anzac Station on St Kilda Road in Melbourne, meaning large-scale work is now underway at all five of the planned stations for the Metro Tunnel project.
Work at the future Anzac Station will dig a 300-metre-long, 30-metre wide, and 22-metre-deep pit –totalling almost 200,000 cubic metres of excavation to build the station box. An acoustic shed will be built over the site where roughly 400,000 tonnes of rock and soil will be removed, and closures between 1.30am and 5am on nearby roads will facilitate the movement of large equipment.
Premier Daniel Andrews and transport minister Jacinta Allan visited the future station site this week, saying suitable topsoil and excavated material from the five Metro Tunnel stations would be re-used wherever possible in collaboration with community groups, to improve open space and support other construction projects.
“Excavation is now underway at every station and the massive tunnel boring machines will be digging under Melbourne by the end of the year,” Andrews said. “The Metro Tunnel will create space to run more trains, slash travel times, and connect areas such as Domain and Parkville to the network for the first time.”