The transport of a giant component for the Snowy 2.0 pumped-storage power station caught the attention of residents in the Australian town of Kuma (New South Wales). According to Econews, at the end of 2025, a huge 152-wheeled, 73-meter-long road train drove through the city streets, transporting the central section of the cutting head for the “Monica” tunnel boring machine. The cargo, weighing over 136 tons (another part of the publication mentions a total weight of 151 tons) and about 7 meters wide, was headed to the Marica construction site. This rotating head is a key part of the “underground factory,” and it’s what makes it possible to drill through the rock formations in the Snowy Mountains. The Snowy 2.0 megaproject is facing some media flak right now. The budget got a bit out of hand, and the completion date has been pushed back to December 2028. But the transport of the super-heavy equipment during the nighttime hours, right under the residents’ windows, was a pretty spectacular sight.
Before the Snowy 2.0 pumped-storage power plant project can provide clean electricity to millions of homes, some of its largest components have to travel a much more visible route. In late 2025, one of these components traveled through the city of Kuma (New South Wales) on a 152-wheeled vehicle that looked more like a moving construction site than a truck. According to Econews, this is what’s going on.
The cargo was the main part of the “Monica” tunnel boring machine, weighing over 136 tons and about 7 meters wide.
“This move wasn’t just a stunt involving the transport of a large load. It was a key step in delivering ‘Monica’ to the Marica construction site, north of Kiandra, where the giant tunnel boring machine will be assembled for the Snowy 2.0 pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant project,” the article explained.
Snowy Hydro said the main part of the cutterhead passed through Kumu on Wednesday night in early October 2025. The convoy traveled along Sharp Street before heading to the final leg of the journey on the Snowy Mountains Highway. The total length of the transport was about 73 meters.
“For people nearby, it was the kind of thing that makes you stop on the sidewalk and stare. Major infrastructure projects are usually built behind fences or deep underground, but at that moment, Snowy 2.0 briefly found itself right in front of everyday traffic, storefronts, and local streets,” the publication adds.
How the cutting head works
A tunnel boring machine, or TBM, is basically a mobile underground factory. Its cutting head is a rotating front section that breaks through rock and soil, resembling a giant round drill bit, while the rest of the machine supports the tunnel behind it.
“That’s why this component was so crucial. Without the cutting head, ‘Monica’ couldn’t have started digging tunnels in the Snow Mountains section she was assigned to, and without careful transport, the machine wouldn’t have been able to reach the remote location it was needed. It’s that simple,” the article emphasizes.
It’s worth mentioning that this project definitely caught our attention. The Australian media has been talking about the rising costs and schedule issues, and now the project is expected to be finished no earlier than December 2028. This shows how complicated megaprojects can be when things like geological features, supply chains, safety concerns, and budget issues come together.
“But, moving the 152-wheeled unit across the Kumu is a small but important part of this huge project. Before they drill the tunnel, before water starts flowing through the mountain, and before the stored energy reaches the power grid, someone’s gotta safely transport the 151-ton cutting head along the road,” the publication concluded.