Tunnelling on the $26.2bn North East Link is set to restart, after a sinkhole halted major works

Tunnelling is set to restart on the $26.2 billion North East Link, more than a week after a huge sinkhole halted works on the project.

Tunnelling on Victoria’s most expensive road project is set to resume, more than a week after a sinkhole was discovered on the project site.

Work on the $26.2 billion North East Link, which will connect the Eastern Freeway to the M80 in Greensborough, was halted eight days ago due to the discovery of an 18m-deep hole near to an old Army Barracks site.

Extensive seismic testing around the area was conducted while backfilling of the hole was done, with the project team giving the green light for tunnel boring machines to start digging again on Friday evening.

Tunnelling is set to resume on the North East Link.

A spokesperson for the North East Link said a thorough review had “confirmed there is no risk to the community, property or surrounding environment as a result of this incident”.

“Tunnelling is safely resuming tonight on North East Link,” they said.

“The project has implemented further monitoring and detection measures and controls to prevent this from happening again.”

While industry sources said the saga would strain budgets that were already running tight, the spokesperson said “there is no impact to project delivery timelines or cost”.

Tunnelling began last year for the mega project, which includes a 6.5km tunnel between Watsonia and Bulleen in Melbourne’s northeast.

First budgeted at $15.8bn, the project was hit by massive cost spikes when major contracts were signed, leading to eye-watering blowouts of $10.4bn.

The budget for the project is now $26.2bn.

The project is due to open in 2028.

Originally published as Tunnelling on the $26.2bn North East Link is set to restart, after a sinkhole halted major works