Tunnels & Tunnelling Weekly
Tunnels and Tunnelling International
The official magazine of the British Tunnelling Society at Business Trade Media International
Welcome to this week's Tunnels and Tunnelling International newsletter.
Despite a shorter week in the UK last week, with the Easter weekend, still a very busy one for the sector and lots of stories shared.
See our highlights below:
TBMS ASSEMBLED FOR SYDNEY HARBOUR RAIL CROSSING
Sydney Metro West is gearing up to build Sydney’s second under-harbour railway crossing with the final TBMs arriving on site.
The two TBMs will dig the 2.3km twin tunnels from The Bays, under Sydney Harbour, to Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD as part of the Sydney Metro West – Eastern Tunnelling Package. They are the last of six TBMs being used on the 24km Sydney Metro West line.
The TBMs arrived in 32 pieces by ship (16 for each TBM) at White Bay port last month. They are now being assembled in the 34m-deep station box at The Bays, ahead of their launch later this year.
The 1100-tonne machines will journey parallel to Anzac Bridge, towards the new Pyrmont Station site, and then under Darling Harbour before reaching the Hunter Street Station site in the heart of the CBD.
FINAL TBM LAUNCHED FOR HS2 NORTHOLT TUNNEL
The fourth, and final, TBM for HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd’s Northolt Tunnel beneath London, has been launched.
TBM Anne will bore 5.5km from Victoria Road in Ealing, near HS2’s Old Oak Common station, to Greenpark Way in Greenford, alongside TBM Emily which launched in February. The 13.5km Northolt Tunnel will run from Victoria Road in Ealing to West Ruislip in Hillingdon.
The other 8km of twin-bored tunnels has been under construction since 2022, with TBMs Sushila and Caroline both over halfway through their journey between West Ruislip, on the outskirts of London, and Greenpark Way. The four TBMs are all set to complete their journeys in 2025.
TBM Anne – an EPBM manufactured by Herrenknecht AG – weighs 1,700 tonnes, is 170m long and has a 9.11m diameter cutterhead. It was lowered in parts into the 25m-deep crossover box at the end of last year.
TUNNELLING SET TO BEGIN ON NORTHUMBRIAN WATER’S PROJECT PIPELINE
Farrans Construction is set to begin tunnelling operations on NWG (Northumbrian Water Group)’s Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley.
A 220m tunnel will be installed beneath the River Tees, near Barnard Castle, to enable a new ￡155m water pipeline to be constructed while protecting the watercourse and the wildlife that relies upon it.
A specialist tunnel boring machine has arrived on site to begin its journey between two specially constructed shafts. This will create a pathway beneath the river, through which the new pipes will be installed.
In recent months, work has been carried out by main contractors Farrans Construction and subcontractors Joseph Gallagher Limited, to create the two shafts, one on either side of the river.
HERRENKNECHT PRESENTS EIGHTH TBM FOR BRENNER TUNNEL
Herrenknecht AG has presented the second of two TBMs for Lot H53 on the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT).
ARGE H53 BBT, a consortium of PORR Group and Marti Group, will use TBM Olga to build the East Tunnel towards Innsbruck on the Pfons-Brenner section of the railway.
TBM Wilma, which was presented in March, will dig the West Tunnel.Tunnelling is scheduled to start in autumn this year.
Each of the double shield machines has a 10.37m diameter, is 183m long and weighs around 2,700 tonnes.
Olga is the eighth TBM that Herrenknecht AG has supplied for the BBT.
SNOWY 2.0 PREPARES TO TUNNEL INCLINED PRESSURE SHAFT
Preparations are under way to tunnel the inclined pressure shaft (IPS) for Australia’s Snowy Hydro Limited 2.0 hydropower project.
The steep shaft, which has a 47% incline, forms part of the waterway and will connect the headrace tunnel with the underground power station. It is 1.6km long and has a 10m diameter.
After finishing the 2.9km emergency cable and ventilation tunnel, TBM Kirsten has been substantially modified to tunnel uphill to excavate the IPS.
The Herrenknecht AG machine’s working platforms, equipment and operator’s cabins all pivot to remain horizontal and the walkways become steps and ladderways.
CREG EXPLOSION-PROOF EPBM READY FOR SICILY
An explosion-proof EPBM for Lot 4A of the Palermo-Catania railway has passed its Factory Acceptance Test.
CREC 1403 was manufactured by CREG at its factory in Tianjin, China.
The EPBM is approximately 251m long, weighs around 2300 tonnes and has a diameter of 9.48m. It has a double-shell shield to address the challenging disassembly of the machine in the tunnel.
The TBM features energy-saving technology, an invert cast-in-place system and an intelligent maintenance system. The explosion-proof design meets ATEX and CE standards.
TUNNELLING NOW COMPLETE FOR LA METRO D LINE SUBWAY EXTENSION PROJECT
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has announced the successful completion of tunnelling for the D Line Subway Extension Project, which will connect downtown L.A. with West L.A.
This major construction milestone was accomplished safely in one of the densest and most geologically challenging urban corridors in the L.A. region and nation.
With the tunnelling phase now complete, Metro will continue to work with its two contractors, Skanska-Traylor-Shea and Tutor-Perini/O&G, to complete seven new underground stations.
These stations will be built in three sections: Section 1 between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega, Section 2 between Wilshire/La Cienega and Century City, and Section 3 between Century City and Westwood.
ITACET LUNCTIME LECTURE SERIES: MAY 2024
?? 14 May - 13:00 CET
Next month's ITACET Foundation for Continuous Education and Training on Tunnelling and Underground Space Use lunchtime lecture will focus on ‘Logistics in long and deep tunnels’ in collaboration with the ITA-AITES Working Group 17The lecture will consist of 3 presentations in total:
·?Logistical aspects of deep tunnelling - Magali Schivre
·?Quiling mount water conveyance: Logistical challenges and solutions - Yang Jinjun
·?Logistical issues specific to the Brennero project - Antonio Voza
There will be a chance for a Q&A session at the end.
BTS APRIL 2024 MEETING - GROUNDWATER LOWERING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE KILSBY TUNNEL
?? Thursday 18th April 2024 at 18:00 hrs
?? Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) - One Great George Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3AA
This month's British Tunnelling Society meeting will focus on Groundwater lowering for construction of the Kilsby Tunnel on the London to Birmingham railway.
Speakers:
Mike Chrimes – Vice Chair, ICE Panel for Historical Engineering Works
Martin Preene – Technical Director, COFFEY GEOTECHNICS LIMITED
Thanks for reading; we hope you enjoyed it.
Until next week.
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