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Survey work for A303 Stonehenge scheme enters next phase

Survey work for A303 Stonehenge scheme enters next phase

Press release from Highways England  - The next phase of investigation work for the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme near Stonehenge will focus on Countess roundabout over the coming ... More Information

Two new breakthroughs for Mumbai Metro Line 3

Two new breakthroughs for Mumbai Metro Line 3

There have been two new breakthroughs as part of the ongoing Mumbai Metro Line 3 in India.  The 18th breakthrough was TBM Wainganga-1 who broke through at the SEEPZ station after completing ... More Information

16th Australian Tunnelling Conference

16th Australian Tunnelling Conference

We are pleased to announce that the 16th Australian Tunnelling Conference will be held on 14-15 October 2019 at the Aerial UTS Function Centre in Sydney. With a comprehensive, two-day ... More Information

iPS Powerful People acquires a controlling interest in the survey specialized personnel services company Nautech Services

iPS Powerful People acquires a controlling interest in the survey specialized personnel services company Nautech Services

iPS Powerful People and Nautech Services have agreed to intensively collaborate. With this agreement iPS Powerful People will strengthen their position in the Survey and Marine markets, and Nautech ... More Information

EXPO Ferrovia update

EXPO Ferrovia update

If you are attending this show EXPO Ferrovia in Italy today make sure you visit the stands of the companies that were chosen as the winners of the “DITECFER Railway Innovation Leaders ... More Information

Press release - Another milestone as TBM Mabel reaches Sydney

Press release - Another milestone as TBM Mabel reaches Sydney

Tunnel boring machine (TBM) Mabel has broken through a wall of rock into the new Victoria Cross Station in North Sydney. Mabel has excavated about 450,000 tonnes of sandstone and shale – ... More Information

Melbourne Metro Update - Joan starts tunnelling!

Melbourne Metro Update - Joan starts tunnelling!

Tunnelling has started this week, with Joan now digging from the North Melbourne Station site towards Kensington as part of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project. TBM Joan is the first to break ... More Information

Cityringen metro line in Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s new metro will be inaugurated on Sunday, September 29th  by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, accompanied by members of the royal family, Danish Prime Minister Mette ... More Information

The Robbins Company Blog

The Robbins Company Blog

3 Ways to Bore More Efficiently in Extremely Hard Rock: Maximize your TBM Advance through Minimized Downtime When the rock seems unbreakable, stresses are multiplied: The cutters must be stronger, ... More Information

Lyon-Turin base tunnel first 9km complete

On September 23rd , 2019 the TBM Federica (diameter 11.26 m, length 125 m, weight 2400 t) built by the French company NFM Technologie , completed the excavation of the first 9 km section between ... More Information

The Brenner Base Tunnel company has new leadership

The Brenner Base Tunnel company has new leadership

Starting on September 18th, 2019 Martin Gradnitzer and Gilberto Cardola will take the helm of the Brenner Base Tunnel cross-border project company  in Austria and Italy, replacing  the ... More Information

Narragansett Bay Commission Receives Federal Loan for Clean Water Project

The Narragansett Bay Commission has received a loan from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s WIFIA (Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) Program to the amount of $268.7 ... More Information

Robbins and iPS Webinar – 30th October 2019 - Rescuing and Refurbishing TBMs

Robbins and iPS Webinar  – 30th October 2019 - Rescuing and Refurbishing TBMs

Webinar Summary - Detlef Jordan, Robbins and Barrie Willis, iPS -  TBM maintenance: it’s one of the most important factors predicting project success, but it is often treated ... More Information

Strata Worldwide launches DigitalBRIDGE Plus+

Strata Worldwide launches DigitalBRIDGE Plus+

Strata Worldwide has launched a new leaky feeder solution for underground construction. The DigitalBRIDGE Plus+ delivers powerful, high-speed Ethernet and a full spectrum of VHF radio frequencies ... More Information

And they’re off: Hinkley Point C reaches another key milestone

The Hinkley Point C project has reached another key milestone with the start of tunnelling at the UKs first new nuclear power station in a generation. Work has started to install the 38,000 ... More Information

Grand Paris Express update

Grand Paris Express update

On Saturday 14th September, 2019 at the Braque pit site in Aulnay-sous-Bois the first TBM for the Grand Paris express was christened. The TBM was named Armelle after Armelle Martin who saved a ... More Information

ITA TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE AWARDS - FOUR FINALISTS FOR THE MAJOR PROJECT OF THE YEAR

ITA TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE AWARDS -  FOUR FINALISTS FOR THE MAJOR PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Four finalists have been announced for the major project of the year category which focusses on ‘Managing Urban Expansion’. The awards will be held in Miami, USA from the 18th to the ... More Information

Penang Undersea Tunnel updates

Penang is planning a massive transportation network that includes four highways, an eight-lane highway in the Persiaran Gurney, a light-rail transit (LRT) and an undersea tunnel. The ... More Information

Mapei Underground Technology Team

Mapei Underground Technology Team

Mapei's response to the growing demand from the construction market was to create their Underground Technology Team and product line. The Underground Technology Team (UTT), is dedicated ... More Information

The UK’s newest skills academy finally opens its doors

The UK’s newest skills academy finally opens its doors

 A pioneering civil engineering skills academy unlike anything else in the North East has been officially opened in Hartlepool.   The new skills academy from Seymour Civil ... More Information

Heung Yuen Wai Highway - Hong Kong

Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is proud to have contributed engineering excellence to the Heung Yuen Wai Highway in Hong Kong. The major transport infrastructure project will promote ... More Information

Federal Funding Allocation for BART Silicon Valley Phase II project

Federal Funding Allocation for BART Silicon Valley Phase II project

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) allocated EUR113.15 million (USD125 million) to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for the Bay ... More Information

Victorian Tunnelling Centre

Victorian Tunnelling Centre

An Australian-first tunnelling training centre will open next year in Oakleigh. The centre will train thousands of local workers to deliver tunnel projects in Victoria - including the Metro ... More Information

ExpoFerroviaria 2019

ExpoFerroviaria 2019

Its less than a month to go before the next edition of EXPO Ferroviaria in Italy. The EXPO will take place from the 1st to the 3rd of October at Rho Fiera in Milan.  The event is for the ... More Information

Forrestfield-Airport Link - TBMs Grace and Sandy completed 70% per cent of tunnelling.

TBM Grace has now tunnelled more than 5.6km and installed more than 3300 rings, on her journey to Bayswater. Grace is now tunnelling in Ascot - underneath the Tonkin Highway road reserve and is ... More Information

Final pieces in place for West Gate TBM

Final pieces in place for West Gate TBM

The final parts of the TBM Bella, the largest in the southern hemisphere have been lifted into place to start digging the West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne. The 450-t cutterhead has been lowered 27 m ... More Information

Another breakthrough for Sydney Metro’s mega borers

Another breakthrough for Sydney Metro’s mega borers

A second mega boring machine has arrived deep under the Sydney central business district at the new Pitt Street metro railway station. Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Mum Shirl started digging from ... More Information

Tunnel Boring Machines in Difficult Grounds 4th International Conference

Tunnel Boring Machines in Difficult Grounds 4th International Conference

The TBM DiGs conference will be held from November 13th  – 15th , 2019 in Golden, Colorado USA. TBM DiGs is an international conference series that provides a specialized technological ... More Information

Bekaert Maccaferri Underground Solutions - Synmix® HP 55

Bekaert Maccaferri Underground Solutions - Synmix® HP 55

WHAT IS SYNMIX® HP?  - Synmix® macro synthetic fibres, from industry specialist Bekaert, have set a new standard for safety reinforcement with their light weight, easy to handle ... More Information

Senior Tunnel Engineer Dominic Reda Presenting at the 12th Annual Breakthroughs in Tunneling Short Course in Denver, Colorado

GALL ZEIDLER Consultants,  Senior Tunnel Engineer Dominic Reda will be presenting at the 12th Annual Breakthroughs in Tunneling Short Course in Denver, Colorado September 9th – 11th . ... More Information

Jinan Yellow River Tunnel Project

In September, 2019 China started the shield excavation of the Jinan Yellow River Tunnel, known as the "first” tunnel of the Wanli Yellow River according to the China Railway Construction ... More Information

Press release - Small Robbins Double Shield makes a Monumental Achievement

Press release -   Small Robbins Double Shield makes a Monumental Achievement

Compact TBM bores longest Rock Tunnel at 2.46 m Diameter In August 2019, a small diameter Double Shield TBM made a big impact. The 2.46 m (8.07 ft) diameter Robbins machine completed 3,475 m ... More Information

North East Link public hearing update

The Public Hearing for the North East Link Environment Effects Statement (EES) which began on the 25th July will reach its conclusion in mid – September 2019. Any individual and any groups ... More Information

Strengthened Financial Plan for Hudson Tunnel Project Trims USD1.4 Billion

Strengthened Financial Plan for Hudson Tunnel Project Trims USD1.4 Billion

In June 2019 the Gateway Development Commission became a bi-state organization, with new authority and ability to receive the federal grants and loans necessary to deliver the Gateway Program of ... More Information

Line 4 Metro Bucharest - Preliminary design update

Line 4 Metro Bucharest - Preliminary design update

The Feasibility Study and Preliminary Design  for the Lac Straulesti – Gara Progresu Metro Line 4/Green Line extension in Bucharest has been completed. Metrorex the operator of the ... More Information

ICE learning programme gains US accreditation

ICE is pleased to announce its first learning programme which has been accredited for US Professional Development Hours (PDH).   This programme, located on the ICE Learning Hub, has been ... 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