Geotechnical drilling has begun on Melbourne’s Yarra River, testing for construction of the Melbourne Metro Rail Project.
Victoria’s acting premier James Merlino joined acting public transport minister Luke Donnellan this week to announce the beginning of works on what the government is calling one of the largest public transport projects in the state’s history.
The newly-launched floating barge will allow the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority to gather information from deep under the Yarra.
From the floating worksite, 12 boreholes will be dug up to 35 metres below the riverbed, providing key information about ground conditions.
A similar barge system was used last year during geotechnical assessment for the proposed Metro tunnel under Sydney Harbour.
Merlino said the information gathered on the Yarra would help determine the exact technical specifications of the twin tunnels and how they will be built.
“Melbourne Metro Rail will create a true underground metro, and unlock the centre of our train system to create space for more trains running more often, every single day,” he said.
Donnellan added: “The new tunnels under the Yarra River will carry high-frequency, high-capacity trains into the heart of the city and enable 20,000 extra passengers to catch the train in peak hour.”
Two tunnels will be excavated under the river using tunnel boring machines, roughly seven metres below the riverbed.
Geotechnical investigations will continue for the next six weeks at various points on the river, ahead of enabling works in 2017 and the start of major construction in 2018, the government said.