The big one on the move.
This is the front shield of our Dame Whina Cooper Tunnel Boring Machine- all 145 tonnes!
It's here being transported from the new midtown Auckland CRL Aotea station back to the Link Alliance Mt Eden station construction site.
Its huge size meant a huge effort was needed to move the front shield. You can see the 104 wheeled trailer being towed by the lead truck.
Another is supporting the move from behind.
The front shield is one of six pieces of the TBM’s shield that needs to be returned to Mt Eden above ground.
Next week, the middle shield will make the same journey, with the tailskin and other key pieces of the machine following next month.
And what of the machine’s back up gantries? Well, they move themselves back to Mt Eden through the completed tunnel. They do this in a way not dissimilar to how a caterpillar moves!
