Construction is underway on the massive concrete manufacturing facility that will supply more than 55,000 tunnel-lining segments for the River Torrens to Darlington Project that will create a non-stop South Road.
The concrete slab that will form the base for the shed at the T2D precast concrete facility at Waterloo Corner is almost complete, while the first shed frames have also been raised.
A total of 16 pours are required to form the base of the shed, which will be 285m long and 25m wide, at the facility which will produce the concrete segments that will line both sets of T2D tunnels.
The concrete batch plant on site will supply the 280,000m3 of concrete – the equivalent of 112 Olympic-sized swimming pools – required for the segments.
Once manufactured, the segments will then be transported to the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) launch areas. There, they will be used to construct the tunnel sections of a non-stop South Road, with the segment erector inside the TBMs progressively installing the segments in rings to form the tunnel walls.
Each ring will be formed using 10 precast concrete segments, with each segment weighing up to 12 tonnes.
It is expected that at peak construction, 60 workers will be on site at the precast facility.
The facility will create jobs for South Australians, with local company Ballestrin awarded the contract for the concrete slab works, while the construction of the shed is by another local company, Ahrens.
Meanwhile, earthworks at the site, which commenced earlier this year, are being undertaken by local Aboriginal company Karta.
The T2D Project has committed to 90 per cent of labour hours being undertaken by South Australians, as well as a minimum of 6 per cent Aboriginal employment.
The precast facility is expected to start segment production in late 2025 with the first tunnel segment to be installed by mid-2026.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The precast concrete facility at Waterloo Corner will play a crucial role in building the River Torrens to Darlington Project which will create a non-stop South Road.
More than 55,000 precast tunnel-lining segments are required to line the inside of the Northern and Southern Tunnels and they will all be manufactured at the Waterloo Corner site.
The segments will then be transported from Waterloo Corner to our tunnelling sites, where they will be installed by a segment erector to form the tunnel walls.
This facility will create jobs for South Australians and we have already seen local companies, including Ballestrin, Ahrens, Hallet Concrete and Karta, awarded contracts to undertake works at the site.
As put by Federal Member for Spence Matt Burnell
This is an incredible coup for the north, with local business and workers from our community playing a pivotal role in one of the state's biggest infrastructure projects.
Once again, through crucial investment from the Albanese and Malinauskas Governments, nation-building infrastructure is being delivered along with jobs for South Australians.
