West Gate Tunnel-boring machines named after trailblazers

MASSIVE tunnel-boring ­machines destined for the West Gate Tunnel project will be named in honour of two of Victoria’s trailblazing women.

MASSIVE tunnel-boring ­machines destined for the West Gate Tunnel project will be named Bella and Vida in honour of two of Victoria’s trailblazing women.

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan will today announce the winners of a competition to name the 4000 tonne machines that will soon be digging under Melbourne.

BORER NAMING COMPETITION LAUNCHED

VICTORIANS HIJACK TUNNEL BORING MACHINE NAME COMP

The two successful names are in honour of Bella Guerin, the first woman to graduate from a university in Australia, and suffragette and social reformer Vida Goldstein.

The competition winners will be invited to the West Gate Tunnel worksite to watch as their machines are assembled.

The Andrews Government launched the competition to name the mammoth pieces of equipment because tunnelling tradition dictates they must be given a female name for good luck.

“Just as Bella Guerin blazed a trail as the first woman to graduate from an Australian university, the ‘Bella’ TBM will help to connect thousands of students in the western suburbs, Geelong and Ballarat to educational opportunities,” Mr Donnellan said.

“These tunnel boring mach­ines will be working 24/7 to deliver an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, slashing travel times and taking thousands of trucks off local streets.”

More than 3000 people are already working on the West Gate Tunnel, including the construction of a giant shed for the hub site in Yarraville.