Borers will soon be active under the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail in North Melbourne, however riders needn’t worry about being undermined.
A micro-bore tunnel boring machine will dig two small tunnels under the Moonee Ponds Creek and the adjacent trail to provide for high voltage, underground electricity conduits.
Riders will have noticed the construction of the new North Melbourne substation next to the trail, just south of Arden Street, which will provide power to the Metro Tunnel’s twin nine-kilometre rail tunnels and new underground stations,
That facility will be fed electricity from the West Melbourne Terminal Station just across the Creek in Kensington via the two small tunnels.
Work activity began on Monday 31 May and will continue until mid-July 2021.
The boring is scheduled to take about a week in mid-June.
There should be little interruption to traffic along the trail during these works, with short holds of trail traffic required intermittently while large construction vehicles travel along the narrow section of existing access track near Arden Street.
Traffic controllers will be in place.
Construction activities will be noticeable on the west side of the Creek.
There will be earthworks to construct a ramp for site access between the West Melbourne Terminal Station and railway line on the western side of Moonee Ponds Creek and preparatory works to construct a temporary launch pit on the eastern side of Moonee Ponds Creek and a temporary retrieval pit on the western side of Moonee Ponds Creek.
While most trenching works will be completed within existing access areas to minimise impacts to trees and vegetation, two trees and some vegetation will require removal. Trees and vegetation will be reinstated once construction is complete.