Adelaide has reached a historic milestone in infrastructure development with the arrival of the first components of the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) for South Australia’s largest infrastructure project — the $15.4 billion North–South Corridor (T2D Project), jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian governments.
The shipment includes a giant TBM cutterhead, delivered in five separate parts. The largest centre section weighs nearly 175 tonnes and measures 9 metres in diameter. Once fully assembled, it will reach 15 metres in diameter — roughly the height of the AFL goalposts at Adelaide Oval.
The components will be transported from Port Adelaide to the Southern Precinct in Clovelly Park this Saturday night, with progressive road closures required for safe delivery. The machinery will then be reassembled and commissioned before tunnelling begins in the second half of 2026.
The T2D Project will use three large-scale TBMs, each over 100 metres long, to construct twin 4.5 km Southern Tunnels and 2.2 km Northern Tunnels. It will be the first project in Australia to operate three TBMs simultaneously, marking a milestone for national engineering capability.
Once complete, the North–South Corridor will deliver a non-stop South Road, bypassing 21 sets of traffic lights and cutting travel times by up to 40 minutes during peak hour. The project is also expected to support around 5,500 jobs per year, with 90% of labour hours contributed by South Australians.
