| NEWS
Snowy 2.0 early hole-through blast damage AUSTRALIA – Blast excavation for the Snowy 2.0 powerhouse cavern caused some damage to the concrete segments of the access tunnel running below, and opened an earlier than planned linking hole between the structures.. The transformer hall is to be linked to a
segmental concrete-lined temporary part of the main access tunnel (MAT), but at a slightly different location. In a statement to T&TI, a Snowy Hydro
spokesperson said that during a recent blast in the transformer hall, blasted material penetrated a temporary section of the main access tunnel located directly below the cavern. The ‘breakthrough’ occurred between the cavern and MAT one blast earlier than planned. “This was a recognised risk associated
with blasting in the area and appropriate safety measures were in place. This included bracing of the MAT concrete segments to ensure the tunnel is stable while excavation of the transformer hall cavern and the temporary section of the MAT is undertaken,” the spokesperson said. There were no workers underground
at the time of the blast, as per safety requirements. Access beyond the affected section of the
MAT remains closed until the breakthrough is completed. In its latest project update, Snowy Hydro
said the project’s three TBMs had bored a total of approx 9km and also that a surge shaft at Marica was under construction.
Bouygues-led team wins Paris metro job FRANCE –The Iris consortium, led by Bouygues Travaux Publics, has been awarded the second design-construction contract for Line 15 East on Grand Paris Express project. Société des Grands Projets (SGP)
awarded a €1.087bn contract to the consortium to build the underground section from Saint-Denis-Pleyel to Drancy- Bobigny station. The contract includes the excavation of a
5.5km-long tunnel, upgrading a 2.5km- long existing tunnel, and construction of four new stations (Stade de France, Mairie d’Aubervilliers, Fort d’Aubervilliers, Drancy- Bobigny), building four new and upgrading three service structures. The works also involve building housing and offices above Mairie d’Aubervilliers and Drancy-Bobigny stations, respectively.
The Iris consortium comprises Bouygues
Travaux Publics, Bessac, Soletanche Bachy France, Egis, Colas Rail, Alstom, and architects Atelier d’Architecture Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés, Atelier Novembre, Atelier Schall Architectes Associés, and Enia Architectes. The contract has a low carbon approach
that will prioritise the reuse of materials, use of low-carbon fibre-reinforced concrete for the tunnel segments, and the use of electric vehicles and site machinery. A waste reduction initiative is to be put in place on the construction sites. The consortium also says it plans to
contract at least 20% of its work to SMEs. Line 15 East is scheduled to come into
service in 2031.
Sydney Metro West celebrates another breakthrough AUSTRALIA – Further progress has been marked on Sydney Metro West, with two TBMs arriving at Burwood North Metro Station site. TBMs ‘Beatrice’ and ‘Daphne’ have each
built 6.26km lengths of tunnel, so far excavating a combined 1.2 million tonnes of spoil and installing around 44,100 tunnelling segments. The 7m-diameter double-shield, hard
rock TBMs are more than halfway through their 11km-long journeys to carve out a section of the metro alignment between The Bays and Sydney Olympic Park, via future station sites at Five Dock, Burwood North and North Strathfield. The TBMs traverse the Burwood
North station box cavern (25m-wide by 194m-long by 29m-deep) for relaunch. The next bores for the machines are 1.8km-long to North Strathfield station. They are due to complete the journey to Sydney Olympic Park in the second half of this year. The 165m-long TBMs are using
refurbished cutterheads, front shields and gripper shields from TBMs used on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. The 24km Sydney Metro West project is due to open in 2032.
TBM finish on Georgia’s longest road tunnel GEORGIA – TBM breakthrough was achieved recently on the 9km-long Gudauri Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in Georgia. Gudauri Tunnel is one of five on the
new 23km-long road link between Kvsheti and Kobi, also known as the North-South Corridor KK Highway.
The China Railway Tunnel Group is
building the 10km-long Lot 1 section of the dual carriageway, which includes the Gudauri Tunnel. The new highway will shorten the travelling distance between the two locations by 11km. It will also connect mountain villages in the Greater Caucasus range that often have no road access during winter. The 15.09m diameter TBM was named
Caucasus after the mountain range it bored through. It is 182m long, weighs 3,900 tons and has a maximum thrust of 22,600 tons and a total power of 9,900kW. Its maximum monthly advance was 426m.
Dublin greenlight for runway tunnel IRELAND – Dublin Airport operator DAA has been granted planning permission to build a vehicle underpass tunnel below the crosswind runway. An Bord Pleanála has approved the
€200m runway underpass, despite objections from airline Ryanair arguing that costs would be added for passengers and claiming the move would damage the recovery of Irish aviation. The approved tunnel project has a
700m-long enclosed section, and an overall alignment of approx 1.1km from entry to exit, located in below the middle of the runway. The underpass will be approx 24m in external width, and 5.5m in internal height from road to tunnel ceiling. The twin-cell underground section will be up to 17.5m below existing ground level. T&TI was told: “The tunnel is required to
improve access and safety on the airfield, allowing for the segregation of aircraft and vehicles, and the movement of vehicles to the West Apron, which has been restricted since the opening of the North Runway in August 2022. Access to the West Apron is critically important for airport operations.
Robotic-AI tunnel R&D UK – A wide-ranging consortium of skills have been brought together for an R&D consortium to use robotic and AI solutions to installation M&E services in tunnels. The prototype Automated Tunnel
Robotic Installation System (ATRIS) is to autonomously select brackets, locate suitable mounting points, and perform installation. The consortium includes Tunnel
Engineering Services (UK) Ltd, i3D robotics, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Costain, and VVB Engineering.
July 2024 | 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137
