McConnell Dowell’s micro tunnel boring machine has completed tunnelling on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island for the Westland Milk outfall project.
The machine, named Piper, arrived from another tunnelling project in the North Island, where the team had set a world record of 1929 metres for the longest single drive by a mini tunnel boring machine.
The project team for the Westland Milk outfall project tunnelled 844 metres to install the 835 mere steel outer casing for the wastewater pipeline two weeks ahead of the construction programme.
Direct pipe tunnelling was chosen to mitigate the impact of work on the delicate coastal ecosystem.
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The retrieve Piper, specialist excavation equipment sourced from Malaysia will be used to expose it under the seabed. A dive team will then disconnect the mini tunnel boring machine and tow it to Greymouth Port where it will be lifted from the water.
Once complete this project will provide a new ocean discharge point for the treated wastewater from the Westland Milk products facility.
Final marine operations will be completed in early 2021.