Overview

The construction of the North East Link (NEL) tunnels is well underway! The largest transport infrastructure project in Victorian history consists of 6.5 km tunnels from Watsonia to Bulleen, and it will complete Melbourne’s orbital freeway network. The presentation will provide an overview of the recently constructed ventilation tunnel and adits using Sequential Excavation Method (SEM). The key topics include primary support types and selection criteria, construction sequence and methodology, observational ground behaviour and support optimisation on site. This presentation offers an exclusive look into the mega project, detailing the entire timeline from design to construction. It provides a unique opportunity to showcase the comparison between tunnel design considerations and field observations, with the intention to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Learning outcomes

This presentation you will learn:

• Regional geology and how the project classifies the rock mass for tunnel support selection.

• The roles and responsibilities of the CPS team in the field and how they provide advice on “as required” support installation.

• An overview of the detailed design process and how the North East Link team are bridging the gap between design and construction through design and constructability optimisations.

Timings

Online:

6:00pm AEDT: Presentation and Q&A

7:00pm AEDT: Webinar ends

In-person:

5:30pm AEDT: Guest arrival, registration, networking

6:00pm AEDT: Presentation and Q&A

7:00pm AEDT: Event ends

Speakers

Brooke Carnes

Senior Project engineer, DELVE Underground

Brooke is a Senior Project engineer at Delve Underground with 10 years of experience in tunnelling on a wide range of transportation and water projects, both in Australia and internationally. She has design experience in metro rail, road tunnel and large-scale underground structures. Brooke was the SEM mainline tunnel Package Lead on the North East Link Program Detailed Design Phase and is now working as a Field Professional providing Construction Phase Services to SPARK for the construction of the SEM scope on this project.

Heather Hughes-Adams

Professional geotechnical engineer, DELVE Underground

Heather Hughes-Adams is a professional geotechnical engineer with 6 years of experience in the industry. She joined Delve Underground in Vancouver in 2021, where she has used her background in site investigation and trenchless construction engineering to support her work in trenchless technology, including the design and construction of horizontal directional installations and pipe rammed crossings. Since joining the Melbourne office last year, Heather has begun working on large scale transportation tunnels, starting with the North-East Link project where she works full time on Construction Phase Services.