NEWS |
TBM finishes subsea drive at Shenzhen
RFQs for BC immersed tube CANADA – A request for Qualifications (RFQ) has been issued for British Columbia’s Fraser River immersed tube tunnel Project. The Can$4.15bn (US$3.07bn) eight-
lane tunnel (2 x 4-lanes, plus corridor for cyclists and pedestrians) is to replace the existing George Massey Tunnel on Highway 99. The project is being delivered by the Transportation Investment Corporation for Canada’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Procurement is through a
Above: TBM completes drive at Shenzhen PHOTO CREDIT: CREG
CHINA – The 15.53m-diameter slurry tunnel boring machine (TBM) named ‘Mawan’ recently achieved break through to the reception chamber on the right bore of the Shenzhen Mawan Subsea Tunnel project. The project involved a 2063m TBM drive, including a 1100m subsea section. The city of Shenzhen, in
Guangdong province, is to be host city of the World Tunnel Congress (WTC) in April 2024. The TBM on the Shenzhen
Mawan Subsea Tunnel project was manufactured by China Railway Engineering Group Co (CREG). During tunnel boring, the TBM
overcame four major construction challenges, said CREG. The first was the complex ground conditions, including 50% of mixed ground and 34% of full-face hard rock, which meant the TBM had to bore through a long stretch of high-strength rock. The second challenge on the tunnel
bore was the difficult construction. The complex terrain in the subsea section could have caused the TBM to float and deviate from the designed route, as well as increasing the risk of severe cutter wear. The third challenge was the large
overburden. The tunnel is located at a depth of more than 40m under the seabed, with a maximum water pressure of 5bar and a maximum rock strength of 193MPa. The fourth issue was the large
6 | September 2023
cross-section, with an outer diameter of the segmental ring of more than 15m. TBM ‘Mawan’ set a best monthly
advance of 172m in mixed ground and a best daily advance of 10m, setting a new record for daily advance of large-diameter subsea TBMs in China, said CREG. Shenzhen Mawan Subsea Tunnel
is expected to open in 2024. It will play an important role in expanding the city’s urban development and promoting transport interconnectivity in the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Major tunnelling works have
been underway in Shenzhen for a number of years as part of large- scale expansion of infrastructure in the city. Shenzhen will host WTC 2024
over 19-25 April 2024. The event is being organised by the China Civil Engineering Society (CCES), as the national representative member of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA). Training courses are on 19-20
April. ITA committee meetings and General Assembly are over 20-21 April. Then main sessions of the Congress begin with the Opening Ceremony and Keynote Lectures on 22 April, followed by the Technical Sessions that run to 24 April. On 25 April there are to be site visits. The venue for WTC 2024 is
Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Centre.
collaborative Progressive Design-Build (PDB) model with target price to have Early Contractor Involvement (ECI). There is to be a Design Early Works Agreement (DEWA) and effective and manageable risk allocation in the final Design-Build Agreement (DBA). The RFQ deadline is 14 September with
the DEWA Request for Proposals (RFP) expected to be issued on 23 October and the DBA RFP in spring 2024. It is anticipated the contract will be awarded in 2025 and construction will begin in 2026. In early 2022, Cowi was appointed as
owner’s engineer and is to conceptualise and oversee removal of the original four- lane George Massey Tunnel, which the company designed in 1959, and construction of its replacement.
Bilbao metro lot award SPAIN – ETS Euskal Trenbide Sarea has awarded the second section of Bilbao metro Line 5 to a JV of Acciona, Sacyr, Altuna y Uria and Bycam. The 2.8km-long route will connect the
neighbourhoods of Aperribai and Galdakao. The tunnelling contract, valued at
€88.1m (US$95.6m), includes the platform and track superstructure, Bengoetxe and Galdakao stations, and the Olabarrieta and Abusu ventilation and emergency galleries. Bengoetxe station will be excavated
by cut and cover, while at Galdakao’s Lehendakari Agirre plaza a cavern station is to be built. Work is expected to start in September,
take 48 months and the line is to open in 2027. Line 5 works are in three sections:
Sarratu-Aperribai (1.54km-long, above ground); from Sarratu (Basauri) intermodal station in tunnel, and below Ibaizabal River; and, Galdakao-Hospital section has a 1.93km-long tunnel.
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