TECHNICAL | LIFTING/CONVEYORS
Right:
TBM cutterhead readying for transport at south portal of HS2’s Long Itchington Wood Tunnel, UK
ALL IMAGES: HS2
HS2 One of the mighty sights of an illuminated disc on the move during the night in the English countryside last year was that of the giant cutterhead for the TBM ‘Dorothy’ on HS2’s Long Itchington Wood Tunnel. After breakthrough on the first drive, the TBM’s main
front sections were lifted, carefully and securely, onto specialist heavy duty transport to be taken back to the launch point. The large pieces were transported by road and through a village. The 10m-diameter cutterhead weighs 160 tonnes. It
was moved standing upright on a 12m-long, 48-wheel self-propelled trailer (SPT). On a 4km-long (2.5-mile) journey. At night.
The Herrenknecht TBM’s 120-tonne tail skin was
moved in the same operation. Eight other large pieces from the front and middle
shields were transported separately beforehand. Once the pieces were back where tunneling began
at the north portal, the machine was reassembled for the second drive. The TBM backup train had been moved separately – pulled back along the built tunnel by a special ‘caterpillar’ system, at a pace of 150m per day. Dismantling and transporting TBM ‘Dorothy’ was an
intricate, 24/7 operation, managed by the plant and logistics team at HS2’s contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV).
Right:
TBM cutterhead on its night-time journey
14 | Fall 2023
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