Excavation works are now underway on the site of the future Parkville Station, which is part of the $11 billion Metro Tunnel Project in Victoria.
Workers have commenced the dig for a 270-metre long and 30-metre wide station box beneath Grattan Street - between Leicester Street and Royal Parade. The excavated dirt and rock from the site is estimated to fill up approximately 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“Significant work is ramping up at the site of the new Parkville Station, as we get on with the job of delivering the world-class train network and state-of-the-art stations that Victoria deserves.
“The Metro Tunnel will make travelling to the renowned Parkville health, education and research precinct easier than ever before, slashing travel times by up to 20 minutes in each direction,” Acting Premier James Merlino said.
An initial 3 metres is going to be dug out by excavators on site, with a temporary concrete and steel deck to be built at surface level to help minimise the impacts of dust and noise to the public.
Excavation works will continue on after the deck has been completed in March. Trucks will be driven underground using a ramp to retrieve the rock and soil under the deck.
Trucks will be unable to enter once the excavation has reached 15 metres. By this time, gantry cranes are going to be used to lower buckets through holes on the deck to collect dirt and rock, and then load the excavated material on to the trucks located inside acoustic enclosures at the surface.
One of the three cranes has already been installed on site, with the other two cranes to be installed by the end of February of this year.
Excavation works will be done until the end of the year, with up to 200,000 cubic metres of dirt and rock expected to be removed from the site.
Once digging has concluded, construction and fit-out of the new station will commence underground.
“We are undertaking a monumental engineering feat as part of the Metro Tunnel, including constructing new train stations deep beneath some of Melbourne’s busiest areas,” Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said.
Construction on all five Metro Tunnel train stations across the are well underway. The stations include in North Melbourne near Arden Street, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac.
The first train is set to run through the completed Metro Tunnel in 2025.
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Source: Premier of Victoria; Construction Advisor