The construction of the five Melbourne stations is accelerated with Arden station construction in full swing, as the twin 9-km tunnels move closer to completion.
To finish work on the project’s tunnels at the end of April, Alice the third tunnel boring machine (TBM) broke through at Town Hall station after successfully digging under the Yarra. It leaves just one TBM to complete the final leg of the 9 km tunnels from Kensington to South Yarra, with tunnelling due to finish in the coming weeks.
“As tunnelling is about to wrap up – the team has a massive task ahead of them to finish the stations, lay the track and get the tunnel ready to deliver more trains, more often,”the Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said.
Arden station will be the centrepiece of a massive new precinct that will be the home of Victoria’s innovation economy, which is expected to include up to 34,000 jobs and be home to around 15,000 residents by 2050.
The first concrete pour to build the station’s platforms has taken place, with platform construction continuing with the installation of pre-cast platform units and further concrete pours. The station’s internal walls are in place, construction on the roof slab is near completion and crews have begun to install mechanical, electrical and plumbing services in the station box. Earlier this year, workers installed 38 piles deep into the ground surrounding the eastern end of the station to reinforce the entrance building’s foundations.
Arden station’s entrance will feature 15 soaring brick arches, which are being built off-site with more than 100,000 bricks laid by hand onto precast concrete, to be delivered on site over the next few months.
The huge arches spanning the entrance are a nod to the rich industrial history and character of Melbourne’s inner north. They will be made up of 52 concrete segments, each weighing 45-50 tonnes and lined with 104,000 bricks.
The station will provide more than 120 bike parking spaces.
Arden station will have a direct link to the Airport in 2029 and be within walking distance of the North Melbourne Recreation Centre, Arden Street Oval and the tram route 57, creating a transport hub.
Planning work is currently underway to consider an additional Royal Melbourne Hospital campus and a new Royal Women’s Hospital within Arden, with Melbourne’s renowned medical and research precinct to be extended across two locations, the – Arden and Parkville – connected by the Metro Tunnel.
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