Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The first of the two massive tunnel boring machines that will build the West Gate Tunnel has arrived in Melbourne. Bella, the tunnel boring machine (TBM), is 90 metres long, 15.6 metres high and weighs 4,000 tonnes – one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The hundreds of pieces that make up Bella were delivered over several weeks to the West Gate Tunnel’s northern portals in Footscray, ready for reassembly, which will take a few months.
Specialised training for the West Gate Tunnel Project has now also started for more than 30 tunnel workers with a hyperbaric chamber installed onsite so workers learn about operating in pressurised conditions.
Workers will work up to 35 metres below ground level and will need to spend up to two hours depressurising before returning to the surface. Up to 20 people will work in the TBM at any one time.
Learn more about tunnel boring machines: http://westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au/construction/tunnel-boring-machines
The first of the two massive tunnel boring machines that will build the West Gate Tunnel has arrived in Melbourne. Bella, the tunnel boring machine (TBM), is 90 metres long, 15.6 metres high and weighs 4,000 tonnes – one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The hundreds of pieces that make up Bella were delivered over several weeks to the West Gate Tunnel’s northern portals in Footscray, ready for reassembly, which will take a few months.
Specialised training for the West Gate Tunnel Project has now also started for more than 30 tunnel workers with a hyperbaric chamber installed onsite so workers learn about operating in pressurised conditions.
Workers will work up to 35 metres below ground level and will need to spend up to two hours depressurising before returning to the surface. Up to 20 people will work in the TBM at any one time.
Learn more about tunnel boring machines: http://westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au/construction/tunnel-boring-machines
