From City Rail Link.

The 450 tonne front section, or shield, of City Rail Link’s Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) has been successfully  positioned in front of the Mt Eden tunnel portal after a 500-metre long drive that took one-and-a half hours to complete.

The shield was moved from the western edge of the Mt Eden site along a specially built road by a  truck towing a hydraulic trailer fitted with 15 axles and 250 wheels to safely carry the shield’s weight.

“Despite this morning’s grey skies and rain, everything went smoothly. It was a very big and delicate operation but many hours of planning and all our hard work on site has paid dividends for us,” says Francois Dudouit, Project Director for the Link Alliance.

“That’s only one part of the job.  The next exciting phase is putting everything together.  We’ll position the shield inside the first 50 metres of the CRL tunnel and connect the shield to the TBM’s “’factory’ – the 11 sections or gantries that provide the hydraulic, mechanical and electrical power the shield will need to excavate the tunnels, remove the excavated spoil, and install the precast concrete segments that will line the tunnels.”

When all the gantries are connected, Mr Dudouit says the TBM,  named in honour of Māori rights champion, Dame Whina Cooper, will undergo extensive commissioning tests and trials before to starts excavating the first of the twin CRL tunnels in late April.

The Link Alliance will operate the TBM to the new Karangahape Station and then on to the Aotea Station in the central city where it will join with the tunnels already built from the Britomart Station and under the lower end of Albert Street.

CRL’s 3.45 kilometre-long tunnels are planned to open in late 2024 and will transform Auckland’s rail network and the way people travel around the city.