Tunnel boring machine (TBM) Bella has reached the 1 kilometre mark of her 4km journey digging Melbourne’s West Gate Tunnel Project’s outbound tunnel. The second TBM, Vida, is currently past 20 per cent of her 2.8km journey digging the inbound tunnel.

Both TBMs are hard at work, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. TBM Vida will take around a year to complete her journey. TBM Bella will tunnel for 18 months.

The TBMs started their journey at the northern portal in Yarraville and are moving south-west towards the southern portals along the West Gate Freeway.

It will take just under four years for the tunnels and portals to be built, fitted out, commissioned and ready for use.

The TBMs are building the new twin tunnels between the Maribyrnong River and the West Gate Freeway, providing a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge.

The project will create quicker and safer journeys and remove over 9000 trucks a day from streets in the inner west.

Meanwhile, a new TBM Tracker webpage is now available on the West Gate Tunnel Project website, which shows the progress of both TBMs on their tunnelling journeys since they started work, as well as information on the twin tunnels.