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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-28 Daily Xml
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Torrens to Darlington Project

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the minister inform the chamber about the recent Torrens to Darlington milestone?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (14:59): I thank the honourable member for his question and interest in this particular milestone, which is creating the $15.4 billion nonstop north-south corridor project. South Australians can see that we are building, and they can see that as a state we are building big. Each tunnel boring machine for this project will be approximately 100 metres in length and 15 metres in diameter, roughly the height of the Thebarton Theatre, or the goalposts at the Adelaide Oval.

The centrepiece of the first TBM cutter head, an enormous structure spanning nine metres in diameter, made its arrival after navigating its way through a coordinated 28-kilometre track to Clovelly Park. Starting from Port Adelaide, the cutter head was carefully transported using a specialised truck and trailer set-up. To make way for the cutter head's sheer size, crews implemented progressive road closures, and nine sets of traffic lights had to be temporarily removed—and then later reinstalled—because the cutter head simply could not fit through these intersections.

It was anticipated that this journey would take about five hours but thanks to weeks of planning and care it arrived within three hours, just after midnight. I felt incredibly lucky to be part of this convoy and watched people who had lined South Road, young and old, some in their pyjamas, some with cameras, some watching in order to say, 'We were there to follow the widest piece of the TBM as it made its way along South Road.'

There were people like Mel and Rick. Mel was from Queensland and joined her brother Rick on the corner of Henley and South roads. Deckchairs were out, a camera was ready and a snack pack was already available for anyone who wanted to drop by. They told me that they wouldn't have missed it for the world. They said, 'This is a moment in South Australia's history and we want to be part of it.' There was also Michael, who had arrived hours and hours earlier, before this incredible piece of machinery arrived. He knew every fun fact about TBMs. He followed the convoy for the last 20 metres, walking frame and all, proudly sharing his knowledge about this incredible machine and what it means for our state.

That is the kind of pride and ownership these projects inspire. It is not just about the concrete and steel; it is about what this project means to so many South Australians. They can see our state growing up and they can see that we are becoming a big state that enables projects like this to be achieved. Now, as the massive cutter head is being assembled, in the next year it will travel back on a very similar route that it travelled on Saturday night, but underground, to help build Australia's largest infrastructure project ever: a project that will complete the north-south corridor, bypass 21 sets of traffic lights, and support 5,500 jobs every year during construction.

South Australians have another chance to be part of that story by helping to name the three tunnel boring machines. We are calling on South Australians to leave their mark on history by nominating proud, trailblazing South Australian women who capture the spirit of our state. Traditionally, these machines receive female names, a naming tradition that dates right back to the 1500s when miners prayed to St Barbara, the patron saint of miners, to protect people underground.

You can enter your name on the T2D website on the name of the tunnel boring machine page, and I encourage everyone in this chamber to participate. It is a chance to leave your mark on a piece of history and to help shape the future of how we move across our state, because South Australia is building and we are building big.

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