{"id":40356,"date":"2026-08-11T20:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=40356"},"modified":"2026-08-11T20:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:36:55","slug":"second-giant-tunnel-boring-machine-begins-excavating-for-the-western-harbour-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/second-giant-tunnel-boring-machine-begins-excavating-for-the-western-harbour-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Second giant Tunnel Boring Machine begins excavating for the Western Harbour Tunnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Western Harbour Tunnel project has reached another major milestone, with its second tunnel boring tunnel (TBM) now carving a path towards Sydney Harbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Launched 44.7 metres below Birchgrove Oval, the tunnel boring machine &#8211; named Barangaroo &#8211; has begun excavating the final section of the twin motorway tunnels between Birchgrove and Waverton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barangaroo joins its sister TBM, Patyegarang, which started tunnelling last month. Together, the pair will excavate the final 1.5-kilometres beneath the Sydney Harbour and complete the last stage of tunnelling for the 6.5-kilometre Western Harbour Tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 15.7 metres in diameter and weighing 4,350 tonnes each, the two tunnel boring machines are the largest ever assembled underground, and the largest to be used in the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As they advance, they will install around 13,000 pre-cast concrete segments and 1,300 20-tonne culverts manufactured at a dedicated facility in Emu Plains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the launch process, Barangaroo will construct the first three tunnel rings, each using ten of the 15-tonne segments, before pushing through the launch chamber wall and starting her journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Named after prominent Aboriginal women and adorned with Indigenous artwork, Patyegarang and Barangaroo will operate around the clock and reach depths of up to 50 metres below sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tunnelling comes as another key milestone, the Berry St on-ramp in North Sydney on the other side of the Harbour, nears completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The future connection will link motorists to the WestConnex via the Rozelle Interchange, bringing the project a step closer to transforming the way motorists travel across Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mechanical and electrical fit out is progressing, including lighting, traffic monitoring cameras and signage that will support the tunnel\u2019s safe operation when it opens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Western Harbour Tunnel remains on track to open to traffic in 2028, and will reduce traffic by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>35% on the Western Distributor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>20% in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And by 17% on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It will remain in public hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/caportal.com.au\/rms\/wht\/tbm-tracker\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">track the TBMs progress here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToday marks another exciting milestone for the Western Harbour Tunnel project, with Barangaroo now beginning its journey beneath Sydney Harbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith both tunnel boring machines now in action, we are making strong progress on the final stage of excavation for this important Harbour crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s taken extraordinary feats of engineering to get to this point, and the teams who\u2019ve assembled and launched the TBMs entirely underground have done an outstanding job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOnce complete, the Western Harbour Tunnel will provide a seamless connection between the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney and WestConnex at the Rozelle Interchange, improving travel across Sydney\u2019s motorway network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Western Harbour Tunnel remains on track to open in 2028, and we can\u2019t wait for motorists to experience what it has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Western Harbour Tunnel project has reached another major milestone, with its second tunnel boring tunnel (TBM) now carving a path towards Sydney Harbour. Launched 44.7 metres below Birchgrove Oval, the tunnel boring machine &#8211; named Barangaroo &#8211; has begun excavating the final section of the twin motorway tunnels between Birchgrove and Waverton. Barangaroo joins &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/second-giant-tunnel-boring-machine-begins-excavating-for-the-western-harbour-tunnel\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Second giant Tunnel Boring Machine begins excavating for the Western Harbour Tunnel&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40357,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40356\/revisions\/40357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}