West Gate Tunnel: 92,200-tonne steel contract awarded

InfraBuild Construction Solutions is investing in state-of-the-art equipment and appointing 150 new staff to expand capacity at its Derrimut prefabrication facility to meet the demands of the West Gate Tunnel Project.

InfraBuild Construction Solutions (formerly LIBERTY OneSteel Reinforcing) has been awarded the contract to supply 92,200 tonnes of steel for the West Gate Tunnel Project between Docklands and Laverton in Melbourne.

The steel will be used to reinforce the lining of the project’s twin tunnels, bridge segments, noise walls and retaining walls.

InfraBuild Construction Solutions will scale up operations at its Derrimut facility to meet the demands of the project over the next four years. An additional 150 staff, including ex auto workers, will be employed at the facility and specialist equipment is being commissioned to create customised prefabricated engineered steel mesh, avoiding the need to bend it manually on site. InfraBuild Construction Solutions will also provide ongoing technical expertise to the project.

A 90m-long, 15.6m-high, 4000-tonne Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, is in the process of being assembled at the Tunnel’s northern portals. Tunnel boring on the longest of the West Gate Tunnel twin tunnels is due to start by the middle of the year.

Victoria’s Acting Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Melissa Horne, said: “This contract will boost jobs in Melbourne’s west and our steel contract is already seeing more local jobs to help build this vital project.”

Neil Gibson, Chief Operating Officer, InfraBuild, said he is excited to be working with West Gate Tunnel on such an important infrastructure project.

“We are pleased that the government is supporting local manufacturing, creating employment opportunities to ensure a sustainable future for our businesses,” he said.