WORKERS in Forrestfield are ramping up production of the concrete segments that will form the walls of the eight-kilometre Forrestfield-Airport Link tunnels.
A warehouse near the tunnelling site was transformed into the pre-cast facility so the tunnel’s components could be made locally and create jobs in WA.
The facility, at which 60 workers will produce up to 132 concrete segments a day, opened in June.
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READ NOWAbout 9000 of the rings will be needed to build the twin rail tunnels that will eventually link the eastern foothills with the Perth central business district.
Concrete is produced at the facility, cast into segments, set and then taken about two kilometres down the road to the site of the future Forrestfield Station.
The concrete segments are fed into the tunnel boring machines, which use hydraulic lifters to fit the pieces in to place as it bores through the earth.
TBM Grace, named after a local schoolgirl, was launched last month. TBM Sandy will start its journey in September.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the concrete segments were the very bones of Perth’s longest rail tunnel.