A micro-tunnelling machine is laying the pavement for a transport super hub in Clayton

Watch a video of the tiny laser-guided machine at the heart of one of the state’s biggest public transport projects.

Right this second, a tiny, but very powerful machine, is hard at work beneath residential streets in Melbourne’s south east, helping to power the Suburban Rail Loop East project into the future.

Clayton is set to be the home of a “transport super hub”, projected to link passengers from regular metro lines and regional travellers to the new rail loop interchange.

Locals have been able to go about their everyday life with minimal interruptions as sewer removal works at Dunstan St are in their first stage of construction, all thanks to specially designed technology made for the government project.

Clayton resident Mavis Jones said she was happy the tunnel works were being kept to a minimum.

“I have to detour to do certain things, but to come shopping and do my regular activities is easy,” she said.

“I’ve seen roadworks make life very uncomfortable in the past, this is just so much more convenient.”

The laser guided machine making this possible, measures just 3.2m long and 32cm in diameter, and is excavating 3.75m an hour.

The machine enables each shaft to be closed immediately after it has been dug, with just a manhole cover remaining visible at street level.

Reducing both the disruption to the public above the ground, as workers don’t need to lay the pipe in an open trench, the machine also is working at a more efficient rate.

The device works with the same technology powering custom-built tunnel boring machines, and will carve out twin tunnels on the eastern loop from 2026.

This leg of the project is estimated to take six months to complete.

The Clayton sewer works are, however, just the beginning of a roster of projects set to create 8000 jobs.

The project will give Victorian travellers six new underground stations between Cheltenham and Box Hill, cutting travel time significantly, while also connecting more suburbs.

With a projected 70,000 people expected to use the new loop every day, a trip to from Cheltenham to Box Hill will take just 22 minutes.

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