Major sewer upgrade beneath Brisbane underway

As part of a major infrastructure upgrade to cater for Brisbane’s growing population, a new tunnel will be dug beneath one of its busiest motorways.

This $45m Urban Utilities project involves building a kilometre-long wastewater pipe four storeys below ground, running from Bowen Hills to Windsor.

According to Urban Utilities Spokesperson Michelle Cull, the pipe will be one of the largest in Urban Utilities’ 9000 km wastewater network. This catchment area is expected to grow by around 37,000 people over the next 30 years.

The pipe will be built using trenchless and remotely operated technology, with most of the construction work taking place beneath the city’s streets.

“A tunnel borer weighing 29 tonnes, the equivalent of around 16 cars, will tunnel up to 14 metres below ground to install the new 2-metre diameter pipe,” Cull said.

This will allow the upgrade to be made with minimal impact on traffic, customers and the community, far from the traditional tunnelling methods used by miners to build the city’s largest and oldest sewer pipe in 1915.

A competition was held with Fortitude Valley Secondary College students to design artwork for the tunnel.

“The budding artists presented their work which resulted in the borer being decorated with a river-inspired design by Year 9 student Simone Baquiran,” Cull said.