The new West Gate Tunnel Info Centre will offer a virtual drive through the tunnel via a high tech interactive model, giving people a hands-on experience of the new roads,bike paths and public open spaces being built as part of the project.
At the centre of the experience is a model of the tunnel boring machines (TBM) that will build the twin tunnels under Yarraville to get trucks off local roads and provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge.
The 50:1 scale model replicates the detailed internal mechanisms of the real TBMs and gives an inside look at the specialised machine that will build the tunnels.
Visitors to the centre will also be able to jump on a bike to take a virtual reality ride along the 2.5km elevated cycling freeway to be built above Footscray Road.
There’s a touch-screen interactive model for visitors to drive the widened West Gate Freeway, the new tunnel, and connections to CityLink and the CBD.
Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, said, “The West Gate Tunnel Info Centre is a one-stop shop for information about the project, allowing people to understand the massive benefits this project will deliver for the whole community.
“The West Gate Tunnel will slash congestion and reduce travel times – so it’s vital people understand how it will help them get where they need to be, sooner.”
The West Gate Tunnel Info Centre, set to open in September 2018, is located at the tunnelling hub, the project’s biggest construction compound and the heart of major works, at the corner of Whitehall Street and Somerville Road Yarraville.
Construction on the West Gate Tunnel is well underway, with more than 2,000 people already working on the project.
