Construction progress

ABOVE: Fit out work inside the tunnel

Construction is well underway on the Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), Brisbane’s first major tunnel project and the first of the TransApex projects to commence.

Council will deliver the Clem Jones Tunnel project as a public private partnership (PPP). This will see RiverCity Motorway Group build, own, operate and maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel for 45 years, after which it will be transferred to Council.

RiverCity Motorway has contracted the design and construction of the tunnel to the Leighton Contractors and Baulderstone Hornibrook Bilfinger Berger Joint Venture (LBB JV).

Construction of the project commenced in September 2006. For more information, visit the Clem Jones Tunnel website.

To view a map of tunneling progress click here...

To view photos of CLEM7 construction click here...

Tunnelling

Tunnelling on the Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7) is now complete. Two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), named Matilda and Florence, and several smaller roadheader machines were used to excavate the 4.8km long tunnels. Digging the southbound tunnel, Florence completed her journey from Bowen Hills to Woolloongabba on April 16. She was followed approximately six weeks later on May 26 by Matilda whose breakthrough into the access shaft at Gibbon Street Woolloongabba signalled the end of tunnelling for the project.

Matilda and Florence were the largest of their type in the world excavated 75% of the tunnel.  The TBMs operated like a moving factory, excavating the rock, erecting the concrete tunnel lining and placing the road base as they went.

The excavated rock was removed from the tunnel via an enclosed conveyor and stored in large silos before it was loaded into trucks and transported off-site.

Up to eight roadheader machines working on the south side of the Brisbane River will complete the remaining tunnel excavation creating the entry and exit ramps at Kangaroo Point and Woolloongabba.

The TBMs have now been dismantled and removed from the CLEM7 construction sitesite. Crews are now focusing on the fit out of the tunnel with a view to opening the tunnel to traffic in the first half of 2010.

Click here to view the TBMs being dismantled...

ABOVE: TBM1 'Matilda' breaks through at Gibbon Street Woolloongabba signalling the end of tunneling for CLEM7.	ABOVE: Early tunneling area within the Shafston Ave portal, Kangaroo Point

Click here for more information on tunnelling for the Clem Jones Tunnel.

Bridge construction and road widening

The more visible components of the project are also progressing well with the project’s18 bridges already complete.

Major road widening work is continuing at the northern, eastern and southern entrances to the tunnel is also nearing completion. This work will ensure motorists enjoy fast, safe and reliable access as they enter and exit the tunnel.

ABOVE: Completed bridge work at the northern interchange for the Clem Jones Tunnel	ABOVE: Early roadworks on Lutwyche Road