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Green light for the third tube of the Rosenberg tunnel

At its meeting on 30/03/2022 the Swiss Federal Council approved the general project for the construction of the third tube of the Rosenberg tunnel on the A1 in St. Gallen; the two existing tubes ... More Information

Two autonomous TBMs for Sydney Metro West

For the first time in Australia, two autonomous TBMs (1,266 t and 165 m)  will be used to build twin 9-km rail tunnels between Sydney Olympic Park and Westmead, part of the EUR1.45 bn (AUD2.16 ... More Information

TBM Mireille breakthrough for the Line16 of the Grand Paris Express

TBM Mireille breakthrough for the Line16 of the Grand Paris Express

On 29/03/2022, TBM 8, christened Mireille, which had left Chelles less than a year ago, reached its first milestone by entering the future Clichy - Montfermeil station on Line 16 of the Grand Paris ... More Information

Progress at HS2’s Victoria Road site as base slab is completed

Progress at HS2’s Victoria Road site as base slab is completed

HS2’s Main Works Contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture, SCS JV, have taken a major step forward in their work at the Victoria Road Site in Acton, completing the base slab ... More Information

Italy/Sicily – RFI will design a new project for the safety tunnel at Cefalù

The Cefalù Municipality reached an agreement with the RFI, for the construction of the evacuation tunnel serving the future Cefalù underground stop, along the Cefalù ... More Information

MAPEI's UTT Division - Santa Lucia tunnel

MAPEI's UTT Division - Santa Lucia tunnel

MAPEI's UTT Division have provided technological solutions and technical assistance for all the main applications related to excavation of the S. Lucia tunnel. The tunnel is on the new three ... More Information

Robbins Single Shield completes Canada’s Largest Outfall

Robbins Single Shield completes Canada’s Largest Outfall

Press release - On March 3, 2022, a 7.95 m (26.1 ft) diameter Robbins Single Shield TBM completed a record-setting run below Lake Ontario. The machine, for the Southland/Astaldi JV, bored 3.5 km ... More Information

HS2 reveals noise-cancelling Chiltern Tunnel north portal design

HS2 reveals noise-cancelling Chiltern Tunnel north portal design

Press release - HS2 has revealed the designs for the north portal of the Chiltern Tunnel, which has been specially designed to cut noise from trains entering and exiting the project's longest tunnel ... More Information

Snowy 2.0 - Commissioning of TBM Florence

Snowy Hydro, the main contractor for the Future Generation Joint Venture  and members of the local community celebrated the commissioning of the third and final TBM for Snowy 2.0, with a ... More Information

Inland Rail - Gowrie to Kagaru Public Private Partnership

Inland Rail is a 1,700km fast freight backbone that will transform how we move goods around Australia by providing transit times of less than 24 hours for freight trains between Melbourne and ... More Information

Public feedback period for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE)

Public feedback period for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE)

Members of the public are invited to attend upcoming public meetings to learn more about the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE) Project, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and ... More Information

Inauguration of the Santa Lucia tunnel: one of the largest 3-lane tunnels in the world

Inauguration of the Santa Lucia tunnel: one of the largest 3-lane tunnels in the world

On the 19/03/2022 the new three lane Barberino di Mugello - Florence North section of the A1 motorway was officially opened to traffic. The new 17.5km road is a continuation of the Variante di ... More Information

The NPRA has entered into the PPP contract for The Sotra Connection with Sotra Link AS

The NPRA has entered into the PPP contract for The Sotra Connection with Sotra Link AS in Norway. The contract is worth EUR1.96 bn (NOK 19.8 bn). The contract was awarded in September last year ... More Information

HS2 tunnelling machines reach Chalfont St Peter ventilation shaft

HS2 tunnelling machines reach Chalfont St Peter ventilation shaft

Press release - HS2 this week confirmed that the two enormous 2,000 tonne tunnelling machines digging the high speed rail project’s tunnels under the Chilterns have completed the first stage, ... More Information

Consultation for the A303 Stonehenge DCO (Development Consent Order)

National Highways (the Applicant) has published the environmental information relating to the environmental statement submitted in support of its application to the Secretary of State for Transport ... More Information

First major UK infrastructure project to use procurement to reduce carbon

Press release - Invited shortlisted bidders to tender for the £1.9 billion contracts to build the roads, green bridges, parks and woodlands Today, (Monday 14 March 2022) we have invited ... More Information

Swiss Tunnel Congress 2022

The Swiss Tunnel Congress (STC) unfortunately did not take place as usual over the last two years, but now it’s back! The STC 2022 will be held from June 1-2, 2022 in the concert hall of the ... More Information

Secondary lining for shaft complete at Acton Storm Tanks

Secondary lining for shaft complete at Acton Storm Tanks

Press release - The team working on the most western site of the Tideway project has recently completed the secondary lining of its 35-metre-deep shaft, marking a key milestone at Acton Storm Tanks ... More Information

Construction of the E6 Kvithammar – Asen – works begin.

Construction has of the new E6 from Kvithammer (Stjørdal municipality) to Asen (Levanger municipality) for Nye Veier by general contractor Hæhre Entreprenør AS. The works started ... More Information

Breakthrough in the Vaere tunnel

Breakthrough in the Vaere tunnel

After 398 explosions and 550,000 t of rock blasted out, Nye Veier and Acciona have broken through the new tube of the 1625 m Være tunnel on the E6 from Ranheim to Værnes. Work will now ... More Information

First ever TBM for the Metro Manila Subway Project

First ever TBM for the Metro Manila Subway Project

On the 08/03/2022 the Department of Transportation (DoTr) announced that the first TBM to be used in Philippine history would be lowered into the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) works. The TBM is ... More Information

Australia’s largest tunnelling machine starts digging the West Gate Tunnel

Australia’s largest tunnelling machine starts digging the West Gate Tunnel

Press release - The largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) in the Southern Hemisphere has started digging the West Gate Tunnel. The massive TBM, named Bella, was sent on its journey under ... More Information

TBM Dame Whina Cooper reassembly begins at Mt Eden

TBM Dame Whina Cooper reassembly begins at Mt Eden

Last October TBM Dame Whina Cooper successfully completed the first City Rail Link tunnel and is now currently being reassembled at Mt Eden. All parts of the TBM, the cutterhead, front shield, ... More Information

WTC2023 – Abstracts’ submission is now open

All members of the tunnelling and Underground Space family are invited to submit their abstracts, deadline 31/05/2022, for WTC2023 to be held in Athens from 12th  to the 18th  May 2023: ... More Information

Cross River Rail - Northern Tunnel Portal construction update

Cross River Rail - Northern Tunnel Portal construction update

Excavation, portal structure construction and TBM removal continues in March at the Northern Tunnel Portal site and is on track for completion in mid-2022.  Once the team reaches the required ... More Information

TBM Margherita Launched for the Cefalù tunnel in Sicily

TBM Margherita Launched for the Cefalù tunnel in Sicily

On 03/03/2022 the ceremony for the beginning of construction  of the Cefalù tunnel was held. The tunnel will be the longest of the 3 tunnels for the doubling of the ... More Information

Grand Paris Express – TBM Dorine almost ready for second departure from the Verdun shaft

Grand Paris Express – TBM Dorine almost ready for second departure from the Verdun shaft

On 30 August 2021, after 6 months of excavation at a depth of 20 m under the municipality of Bourget and the simultaneous installing of the tunnel lining, the TBM Dorine arrived at the Rolland shaft ... More Information

TERRATEC EPBM Ready for South Bangkok Cable Tunnel Project

TERRATEC EPBM Ready for South Bangkok Cable Tunnel Project

TERRATEC delivers the new 4.27m dia. EPB TBM that will be used by Contractor Nawarat Patanakarn PCL to supply the electricity in Bangkok, Thailand. TERRATEC is pleased to announce the delivery of a ... More Information

Four consortia are competing to build the Nordhavn tunnel

The Danish Road Directorate has now - after a pre-qualification - selected the four contractors who will have the opportunity to bid on the task of building the Nordhavn tunnel in Copenhagen, which ... More Information

Robbins Complimentary Webinar

Robbins Complimentary Webinar

LARGE DIAMETER XRE TBM: SUCCESS IN TURKEY & FUTURE APPLICATIONS. Can large diameter TBMs bore mixed ground efficiently? Join us as we discuss the incredible results achieved at Turkey’s ... More Information

PIARC Webinar - Road tunnels safety

On February 24th the ROAD TUNNELS SAFETY webinar will be held organised by PIARC Italy with the Italian Technical Committee "Tunnels", in collaboration with ANAS, the National Council of Engineers ... More Information

Updates from Moscow Metro Line construction

Updates from Moscow Metro Line construction

Troitskaya metro line  - The construction of the right running tunnel between the Mamyri and Bachurinskaya stations on the Troitskaya metro line has been completed. The TBM has finally ... More Information

Construction of metro Line 7 in Santiago begins

Construction of metro Line 7 in Santiago begins

On 17/02/2022  the  Chilean President of the Republic, Sebastián Piñera, together with the President of the Metro, Louis de Grange, kicked off the works with the start of the ... More Information

Romania - The Cluj-Napoca subway

Romania - The Cluj-Napoca subway

On 27/01/2022 the Romanian Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, signed a collaboration protocol for the construction of the subway in Cluj county, Cluj-Napoca and Floresti municipalities.  ... More Information

WTC 2023 Athens

The World Tunnel Congress 2023 will be held at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre (MAICC) in Athens (Greece) from the 12th - 18th of May 2023.  The theme of WTC 2023 ... More Information

North Bristol relief sewer – a tunnelling breakthrough

The Wessex Water project to build a 5.5km tunnel for a new “super sewer” in Bristol has reached a major breakthrough.  After traveling for 19 months under the streets of Bristol, ... More Information

Tunnelling News

IN MEMORIAM - OLIVIER VION (1962-2024)

Through the past decades, the energy and foresight to lead the management of the ITA International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association has been in the hands of Olivier Vion, a man ... More Information

Amtrak awards construction contract for East River Tunnel rehabilitation

The $1.6 billion project calls for demolishing all existing tunnel systems down to the liner, then restoring both tubes. During the project, one tube ... More Information

Strabag in €110 million deal to equip transalpine tunnel

Austrian contractor Strabag has won a €110 million (US$120 million) to equip a transalpine tunnel linking Austria and Slovenia... More Information

19 tunnel boring machines for Manila subway set

A close-up of the tunnel boring machine head, with a diameter of 6.9 meters. ... The first cutter head of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM), named ... More Information

$16 billion Gateway Tunnel Project gets federal funding boost after years of delays

The $16.1 billion project includes a new rail tunnel linking New York and New Jersey — and is set to be open by 2035 ... More Information

Preferred bidder announced for second tunnelling contract

The global consortium of WeBuild S.p.A, GS Engineering and Construction Australia and Bouygues Construction ... Tunnel Project, North East Link ... More Information

Bechtel Picked as CM for $12.7B Single-bore BART Extension

Officials with the VTA are aiming to begin major construction and tunnelling for the $12.7-billion BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project next ... More Information

Stonehenge could be put on world heritage danger list over tunnel plan

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recommended that Stonehenge be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ due to the A303 upgrade scheme and is ... More Information

World’s longest railway tunnel to reopen after a year

The tunnel closed on 10th August last year following the derailment of a freight train, and SBB has since been pushing ahead with repair work... More Information

Afcons Infrastructure Wins Bid for Thane Tunnel Project

Afcons Infrastructure secures the L1 bid for a tunnel project in Thane, marking a significant milestone in infrastructure development. More Information

Kolkata Metro: D-Wall's Construction Work At Victoria Metro Station Is Advancing Swiftly

For the tunnelling work of the stretch from the Khidderpore to Park Street stretch of this Corridor, two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) will be deployed ... More Information

K2D Skøyen – Vækerø

Implenia has been awarded the contract for section K2D Skøyen - Vækerø, which is part of the entire Fornebu line that will be completed in 2030... More Information

Massey Tunnel replacement project hits design-build proposal stage

Tunnel replacement project has finally hit the design-and-build proposal stage. The Transportation Ministry announced Wednesday that three bid ... More Information

Barhale wins £36m East London sewer remediation

Thames Water has appointed Barhale to deliver essential remediation works on a Victorian gravity sewer as it passes above the Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway in East London... More Information

Reaping Rewards From Continuous Innovation

In boring underground tunnels for Malaysia's MRTs, Gamuda developed the world's first autonomous tunnel boring machine (A-TBM), utilizing in-house ... More Information

5 of the longest tunnels in the world and how they were built

Since the invention of the tunnel boring machine in 1853, engineers have used advanced technology to drill, blast, and bore into the earth. From ... More Information

Femern - inauguration of the first tunnel element

We are pleased to announce that H.M. King Frederik X will take part in the inauguration of the first tunnel element on the construction site on 17 June. H.M. King Frederik X will arrive at ... More Information

HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture (HMJV)

A busy first half of the year on the HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture (HMJV) Package 5 Headhouses & M&E contract on National Grid’s LPT Phase 2... More Information

Tesla Cybertruck escorts Boring Co's Prufrock-3 tunnel boring machine

The Boring Company's Prufrock-3 tunnel boring machine (TBM) recently completed a tunnel to Giga Texas, and in true Elon Musk fashion, ... More Information

Kazakhstan’s First Automobile Tunnel and Largest Bridge to be Completed this Year

As reported by the Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, Kazakhstan’s first automobile tunnel through the Shakpak Baba Pass and the country’s largest bridge over the Bukhtarma Reservoir ... More Information

HRBT Expansion Project hits big milestone, could be on track for early completion

The tunnel boring machine, known as Mary ... construction of our two new bored tunnels,” said Project Director Ryan Banas... More Information

TBMs Pass Factory Test For Lesotho Highlands Water Project

A team of engineers and tunnel experts from the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) together with consultants and contractors working on the Polihali transfer tunnel recently ... More Information

Royal Cargo opts for Goldhofer heavy transport equipment

It has also been in action moving tunnel boring machines (TBM) for the Metro Manila Subway project ... machine part posed a significant challenge due ... More Information

Tunnel breakthrough on NI Water's £7.8M Portadown wastewater project

The tunnel boring machine excavated roughly 1,000m3 of material, which would have risen to 8,000m3 of spoil with a more traditional open-cut method. More Information

The Boring Company announces Cybertunnel at Tesla Texas HQ

In January, the company's latest tunnel boring machine (TBM), Prufrock 3, was first spotted near Tesla's Giga Texas. Prufrock-3 has ... More Information

How do you build tunnels and bridges underwater?

Underground construction usually uses powerful tunnel-boring machines to excavate soil directly. This machine is often called a mole for a reason. More Information

Five Huge New Construction Projects Coming To The US

A spokesperson for the project told Newsweek: "The Hudson Tunnel Project is a generational investment that is expected to create 95,000 new jobs and ... More Information

Chennai Metro Corridor 3: Adyar River Tunnel Work Hampered By Geological Setbacks

For the stretch between Greenways Road and Adyar, CMRL engaged two TBMs, 'Kauvery' and 'Adyar.' These machines were launched from Greenways Road ... More Information

French and Danish firms to build Valby 'cloudburst tunnel'

The underground tunnel will be 2,380m long and will be constructed as a drilled tunnel with an internal diameter of 3.4m. The tunnel will have the ... More Information

Howard's approved budgets include $44.9M for Ellicott City tunnel

The Howard County Council has approved a $2.4 billion operating budget for fiscal 2025, along with a $413 million capital construction budget that ... More Information

DC Water Breaks Ground On Potomac River Tunnel Project

DC Water on May 21 hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to officially commence construction activities for the Potomac River Tunnel Project... More Information

Silvertown Tunnel portal connections completed

A complete transformation of the tunnel shape was needed to connect the circular tunnel boring machine (TBM) constructed ... More Information

The $4BN Tunnel to Save Stockholm - The B1M

Above: A tunnel entrance under construction. When it completes in 2030, the $4BN project will be one of the longest road tunnel systems in the world. More Information

OHLA awarded the Gjønnes tunnel in Norway for nearly 160 million euros

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has awarded the company the design and construction of the Gjønnes tunnel for 156 ... More Information

Utilities tunnel dug through 'challenging' ground conditions under River Tees

Main contractor Farrans Construction worked with specialist contractor Joseph Gallagher to construct the tunnel. During its five weeks of tunnelling ... More Information

China develops world's first boring and blasting machine

In a groundbreaking development, the world's first boring and blasting machine, jointly developed by Tsinghua University and China Railway Science and Industry Group, has successfully ... More Information

Tunnel boring machine wedged in hard rock, leaving Snowy 2.0 hydropower project with new issues

Tunnelling problems are plaguing the $12 billion Snowy 2.0 hydropower project, with a boring machine previously bogged in soft ground now wedged in ... More Information

Construction Complete On New High-Speed Rail Tunnel

Inside the completed Desheng Tunnel, and inset, a Chinese high-speed train. Work on the project is now complete. © China ... More Information

DC Water Breaks Ground on Potomac River Tunnel Project

The Project consists of a large-diameter deep sewer tunnel, diversion facilities, drop shafts, and support structures to capture flows from existing ... More Information