Track Record

Tunnel Boring Machine

After an 8 week journey from Rotterdam, the star of Brisbane’s North South Bypass Tunnel landed in Brisbane on Monday 24th September 2007.
“This was an epic project for us,” said Brad Skelton, CEO of Skelton Sherborne. “We’ve been managing the logistics of the RiverCity Motorway since January 2005 and we were really proud to bring the first TBM of its type into Australia.”

The unique Herrenknecht TBM is the world’s largest hard rock double shield machine and one of the most important components of the Brisbane Lord Mayor's TransApex vision that aims to reduce traffic congestion through the construction of a network of tunnels that will link the city's key growth corridors. “It was really a sight to see as it was unloaded from the ship and on to our trucks,” explained Skelton. “We then performed a spectacular push-pull operation from the port, across the Gateway and onto the Inner City Bypass to deliver the TBM to its final destination at Bowen Hills.”

While the TBM was completed in May 2007, the journey to Brisbane was a logistical challenge. Some 2,200 hours were spent across the company to manage the door-to-door delivery. After its production at Herrenknecht’s factory in Schwanau, a six week dismantling process took place to be able to load the TBM onto trucks to transport it to a barge at Kehl. From there, a four-day barge trip along the Rhine River saw its delivery to the Rotterdam Port where it was finally loaded onto a freight ship for Australia.

Skelton Sherborne sourced a specialised vessel from the US that was capable of both the heavy lift and increased knots (speed) that the project required to meet deadlines for the RiverCity Motorway. The route to Australia from Germany was via the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to the Port of Brisbane.

“Transporting heavy or unusually-sized equipment is our specialty,” says Skelton. “Most people wouldn’t believe the planning that needs to go into such projects. We had our team on the ground in Germany while the TBM was being built to oversee the dismantling, loading and European land/sea component of the journey.

“After that, we needed to focus on securing the various permits and certifications, coordinate the Skelton Trucking fleet for the haulage and work with the LBBJV project team to organise the delivery and assemblage of the TBM.”

Safety and due diligence were always ensured to the highest standard. The project logistics team at Skelton Sherborne had the entire Inner City Bypass independently surveyed by structural engineers to guarantee soundness. The Skelton Trucking trailers were inspected by an automotive engineer to certify that their hydraulics would evenly spread the 190 tonne weight across the 25 metres of trailer. Mechanical engineers also certified that the geometrics of the trailers were in accordance with the route that the TBM travelled, thus making sure that nothing was too wide or high on the road.

“As a Brisbane-born company, it’s been great to be making part of the city’s history,” said Skelton. “It’s been an exciting project to be involved with and a solid display of our company’s capabilities.”