The South Australian Government says a major manufacturing milestone has been reached on the $15.4 billion River Torrens to Darlington (T2D) Project, with the 1,000th locally manufactured precast tunnel-lining segment completed at a facility in Waterloo Corner.
According to the SA Government, more than 55,000 concrete segments will be produced at the site to line the project’s Northern and Southern tunnels, supporting around 60 local jobs during peak production.
The segments are being manufactured inside a 285-metre-long shed, where up to 160 tunnel-lining sections weighing about 12 tonnes each are expected to be produced daily at peak capacity.
The government said the facility’s on-site concrete batch plant will supply around 280,000 cubic metres of concrete for the works, equivalent to about 112 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Once completed, the segments will be transported to Tunnel Boring Machine launch areas and moved underground using battery-electric Multi-Service Vehicles before installation into tunnel rings.
Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said the project would improve transport outcomes across Adelaide.
“This is an important project for South Australia and will make a real difference to getting Australians home quicker and safer,” King said.
“With over 100,000 vehicles travelling across the corridor each day, the project will improve travel efficiency and facilitate job growth across the region.”
South Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Joe Szakacs said the Waterloo Corner operation highlighted the scale of activity underway ahead of tunnelling works.
“Every segment manufactured at Waterloo Corner is another piece of the puzzle helping to create a non-stop South Road,” Szakacs said.
“The Project is ramping up across a number of sites like the precast facility at Waterloo Corner, as we prepare for tunnelling to get underway in the second half of the year.”
The government also said a new nationally recognised Certificate III in Manufacturing Mineral Products (Precast) had been introduced for the project workforce, describing it as an Australian first.
More than 60 workers have already enrolled in the traineeship program, which the government said would help support long-term skills development in South Australia’s manufacturing and construction sectors.
Szakacs said the initiative would help leave a longer-term workforce legacy beyond the tunnelling phase.
“Beyond the concrete and construction, this project is helping build a skilled local workforce that will leave a lasting skills legacy for South Australia,” he said.
Federal Member for Spence Matt Burnell said the project represented an important step for Adelaide’s transport network.
“This milestone marks another step forward on this important project as tunnelling starts to become a reality,” Burnell said.
The Albanese and Malinauskas governments have each committed $7.7 billion toward the project, with the first tunnel-lining segment expected to be installed in the second half of 2026.
