Drilling has begun at Box Hill, Melbourne, as part of the next stage of the Suburban Rail Loop.
It is part of ongoing site investigations and signals the start of a ground works programme across the city’s southeast to help understand ground conditions and plan for the new underground alignment and station locations.
Boreholes will be drilled to depths between 30 and 60 metres to test the rock and soil composition and stability. Each site takes around two weeks to analyse.
The drilling investigations will help to determine the stages and timing of the project and how it will be built.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the Suburban Rail Loop will change the way Victorians move around Melbourne to slash travel times.
Related stories:
- Registrations of interest open for Suburban Rail Loop
- Works begin on Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop
- Labor pledges $10B for Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop
“We said we’d get the Suburban Rail Loop started and that’s what we’re doing, with geotechnical work now underway in Box Hill,” he said.
The Suburban Rail Loop will connect every major railway line from the Frankston line to the Werribee line via Melbourne Airport.
When finished, the loop will aim to enable people living in the regions to avoid the centre of Melbourne when accessing jobs in growing economic precincts outside of the CBD.
Construction on the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop is expected to begin in 2022.