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TBM Mary breaks through in USA for the second tunnel of the HRBT extension project

On 24 September 2025 - after 29 months of boring - the TBM Mary completed the second bored tunnel at the 'HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel) in Virginia, installing 1,193 rings. ... More Information

United States - TBM Mary restarted for HRBT project

United States - TBM Mary restarted for HRBT project

The TBM - six months to the day since it broke through the headwall at HRBT North Island - is on the move again. Mary began boring a twin eastbound towards Norfolk shortly after 17th October ... More Information

USA - Milestone in the construction of the HRBT extension project

USA - Milestone in the construction of the HRBT extension project

On 17th April 2024 TBM Mary broke through the headwall on the North Island at Hampton, completing the first of the two road tunnels for the USD 4bn HRBT expansion project in Virginia. ... More Information

The HRBT Expansion Project - TBM Mary launched

In April in the South Island launch shaft, the HRBT project team tested the electrical and hydraulic systems of the completely reconstructed TBM Mary. They performed final system tests before ... More Information

Tunnel segments arrive for HRBT Expansion Project

Tunnel segments arrive for HRBT Expansion Project

Last week the HRBT Expansion Project hit a major milestone as the first set of tunnel segments arrived by barge to the South Island from the precast plant in Cape Charles, VA. Nine (9) tunnel ... More Information

The HRBT Expansion Project - TBM Main Drive Installation update

The HRBT Expansion Project - TBM Main Drive Installation update

Work is progressing on the reassembly and placement within cell 1 of the South Island Launch Pit of TBM Mary with her shield section already to set in place. In the next few days the team will lift ... More Information

The HRBT Expansion Project - Making Headway with the Headwall

The HRBT Expansion Project - Making Headway with the Headwall

The massive east headwall in the South Island launch shaft is now complete, and the 14 m (46-foot) external ring at the start of the new tunnel was recently bolted onto the headwall.  ... More Information

The HRBT Expansion Project - August Updates

The HRBT Expansion Project - August Updates

Construction is underway across all 16 km/10 miles of the HRBT Expansion Project. Over the past four weeks there has been recognizable progress on the South Island for the HRBT Expansion Project . ... More Information

The HRBT Expansion Project TBM Arrival Ceremony

Virginia Department of Transportation and Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) will celebrate the arrival of TBM Mary at The Port of Virginia Portsmouth Marine Terminal on the 14th December 2021. ... More Information

HRBT Expansion Project Updates

The HRBT Expansion Project reached several milestones in August. On the South Island, construction crews completed the underground concrete walls, also known as slurry walls, for the launch pit, ... More Information

Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel - Factory Acceptance Ceremony of TBM Mary

Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel  - Factory Acceptance Ceremony of TBM Mary

The Factory Acceptance Test ceremony for the 14m diameter TBM Variable Density, named Mary, happened on thr 06/05/2021 in Germany at the Herrenknecht Deutschland facility: click here and here for ... More Information

The new HRBT’s twin tunnels will be driven by TBM Mary

  The name has been announced of the TBM that will bore the new twin tunnels at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, click here for the video. The TBM will be named Mary, in honor of Mary Jackson ... More Information

VIRTUAL HRBT Expansion Project Construction Open House

VIRTUAL HRBT Expansion Project Construction Open House

With the start of the New Year, the HRBT Expansion Project begins new construction activities. You are invited to learn more during a Virtual Construction Open House to learn about upcoming ... More Information

Work in progress on HRBT Expansion Project

Work in progress on HRBT Expansion Project

Crews continue to prepare for the arrival of the HRBT Expansion Project ‘s TBM and are working on expanding the existing North and South islands to accommodate the new twin tunnels. ... More Information

Virginia Launched Largest Infrastructure Project in Commonwealth’s History

Virginia Launched Largest Infrastructure Project in Commonwealth’s History

On 29/10/20 Governor Ralph Northam joined the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and state and local leaders to break ground on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) Expansion Project. ... More Information

HRBT Expansion Project – permit news

In August the Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) received one  of the three components of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project Permit. The receiving of the final US Army Corps ... More Information

HRBT Expansion Project Update

HRBT Expansion Project Update

In March 2020 Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), the joint venture consisting of Dragados USA, Flatiron Constructors, Vinci Construction and Dodin Campenon Bernard,  commissioned ... More Information

Marine borings begin for HRBT Expansion

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued a permit to HRCP - Hampton Roads Connector Partners to perform borings in the waters between the Hampton and Norfolk shorelines for the HRBT expansion ... More Information

HRBT project

The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project will move forward with the bored-tunnel construction method to deliver the next connection across the Hampton Roads harbour, the Virginia ... More Information

USA - Three teams shortlisted for HRBT Extension Project

USA - Three teams shortlisted for HRBT Extension Project

Three private-sector teams will be invited to submit technical proposals and prices to design and construct improvements to the I-64 (Interstate 64) corridor between I-664 in Hampton and ... More Information

Tunnelling News

The world's longest expressway tunnel: China's Tianshan Shengli Tunnel

At the same time, the project also implemented China's first 'three-tunnel parallel construction' plan, which increased the number of workfaces. At ... More Information

'Not really where you want to be': Ground preparation for Lower Thames Crossing tunnelling

The Lower Thames Crossing is a major new road and tunnel project in the UK, intended to alleviate congestion at the Dartford Crossing and enhance. More Information

Funding problems affect metro line extensions

In the Athens metropolitan area, construction of Line 4 is continuing, with the Avax-Ghella-Alstom consortium saying the two tunnel-boring machines ... More Information

Transport Minister inspects progress on Cairo Metro Line 4 phase one

Four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are in operation—two in each direction. According to the project timeline, the first TBM has reached the Grand ... More Information

Here's what happened with Toronto's Scarborough Subway Extension in 2025

SSE tunnelling, which began in January 2023, is being carried out with the largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) ever used on a Canadian transit project ... More Information

NHAI connects Tunnel No. 4 on Shimla bypass

NHAI PIU Shimla Project Director Anand Kumar, Bharat Construction ... The tunnel was constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) ... More Information

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Update: Palghar Tunnel Breakthrough Achieved

NHSRCL Bullet Train Project | India First Bullet Train Update: Last year, the Ministry of Railways achieved a breakthrough in the construction of ... More Information

Main tunnel works connecting future Changi Airport T5 to existing T2 completed

Main tunnel works connecting the future Terminal 5 to the existing Terminal 2 are completed, as the Changi East development gathers pace... More Information

Testing completed on Hudson River Tunnel boring machines

The project calls for construction of 9 miles of passenger-rail track between New York ... More Information

World's longest motorway tunnel finally opens in £3BILLION project

The Tianshan Shengli (Victory) Tunnel, located in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China, measures some 22 kilometres – roughly 13.75 miles – and ... More Information

Cross-river tunnel of Nanjing Metro Line 4 Phase II completes tunneling

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2025 shows the rear of the "Xinzhengcheng" tunnel boring machine at the construction site of Nanjing Metro Line 4 ... More Information

Tunnels Design and Construction Market is Going to Boom

HTF Market Intelligence projects that the global Tunnels Design and Construction market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.80% from 2025 to 2032, from 72 Billion in ... More Information

Longest tunnel in the world costing £7billion will connect 3 European cities

The Brenner Base Tunnel is currently under construction and will connect the countries of Austria and Italy. The impressive tunnel, which is set ... More Information

Georgian Officials Mark Completion of Railway Modernization, Hoping to Boost Transit

The works also included the construction of the 8,300-meter dual-tube tunnel near Kvishkheti, 10 bridges, six tunnels, and around 100 engineering ... More Information

Israeli municipality approves budget for new tunnel project south of Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Governorate said that the project aims to connect the Har Homa settlement, built on Jabal Abu Ghneim land, to the Begin bypass road near ... More Information

Megaprojects Under Construction Around World In 2026

Described as the largest road tunnel in the U.K., the Lower Thames Crossing will link Tilbury in Essex via a tunnel underneath the Thames with ... More Information

Delhi Metro expansion: Cabinet approved Rs 12,015 crore project

The project, planned over a construction timeline of three years, will be executed largely underground using tunnel boring machines to minimise ... More Information

World's Longest Expressway Tunnel to Open, Linking North and South Xinjiang

Engineers used innovative methods and specially designed machines called tunnel boring machines (TBMs) to dig through hard rock faster and safer than ... More Information

The huge £21bn mega-tunnel that goes right through the middle of a mountain

Huge boring machines will create a 57.5km (35.7mile) tunnel through the Alps to connect French and Italian high-speed rail networks and link Lyon ... More Information

Rome digs deep for railway that burrows beneath the Colosseum

Tunnellers used lasers to check whether ancient columns at the nearby Forum were not wobbling as their 300ft long tunnel boring machine churned ... More Information

World’s largest-diameter high-speed railway shield tunneling machine reaches milestone

The world's largest-diameter high-speed railway shield tunneling machine independently developed by China, “Linghang,” for the Chongming-Taizhou ... More Information

Third circuit on £1bn London Power Tunnels 2 project energised

Electricity has begun flowing through a new section of National Grid's London Power Tunnels 2 (LPT2) project after the energisation of a ... More Information

Westmead metro station cavern formwork the biggest in the southern hemisphere

Crews are now retrieving the 1,200-tonne Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) that arrived beneath Westmead in September and October, lifting each machine ... More Information

Webuild: excavation begins on three tunnels for Salerno-Reggio Calabria HS/HC Railway

All four TBMs planned for Lot 1A Battipaglia–Romagnano section are operational with launch of latest three Joining TBM Partenope, already active, are Leucosia and Ligea, whose names were ... More Information

SELI Overseas: 75 Years of Tunneling with TBMs

From Channel Tunnel to the Brenner Tunnel: When Tunneling Is Synonymous with Innovation ... SELI TBM at work on the construction site... More Information

Road realignment is major step for HS2, says firm

HS2 Ltd A view of the realigned B4525 on an overcast day. · HS2 Ltd An aerial view of the construction of Greatworth tunnel showing major earthworks ... More Information

Amtrak has made real progress in East River Tunnel rehabilitation

The tunnel has been stripped down to the concrete liner. Westbrook was told the project isn't just about modernizing and replacing what was, but also ... More Information

Madrid invests EUR 123 million in new metro stations on Line 11

TBM Mayrit enters into action in 2026 · November 2025 – February 2026: assembly of the tunnel boring machine in Comillas Park (Carabanchel district) ... Facebook Twitter Flag as ... More Information

Jerusalem Light Rail Construction Advances Ahead of Major Tunnel Work

Local reporting on city project materials notes that “the plan calls for a 2-km underground tunnel to be built beneath the city center, including ... More Information

Why and how the Civil Works Alliance changed Sizewell C tunnel designs from Hinkley Point C

Ground conditions around Sizewell C have required intense collaboration between the project’s contractors alliance to come up with new outfall and intake tunnel design solutions... More Information

AI planning of the first railway tunnel through challenging terrain

AI plans first rail tunnel through tough terrain. Artificial Intelligence China Uses AI for the Construction of Railway Tunnels. 2025-12-08 ... More Information

Will Tunneling Projects Be The Next Big Thing For Mumbai's Public Transport?

During the interview, she also called tunnel boring machines the safest and one of the most efficient ways of doing tunelling. "Only the place of the ... More Information

Chipolbrok vessels deliver tunnel boring machines to Sydney and mineral bulk to Peru

Chipolbrok delivers TBMs for Sydney Metro on Chipolbrok Star and loads 29000t minerals in Peru on Taixing, showcasing fleet versatility... More Information

How Seequent's software solutions help to manage tunnelling data

The second phase of Singapore's Cross Island Line (CRL) metro project is under way, assisted by a suite of software from Seequent. Singapore's CRL is ... More Information

Muography to Transform Tunnel Safety Monitoring

Underwater bridge tunnels have become vital arteries for cities, enabling smooth vehicular passage beneath rivers, bays, and inland waterways. More than 200 of these structures operate ... More Information

10 longest tunnels in the world that reshaped global transportation

Modern tunnel construction involves sophisticated techniques, including tunnel boring machines and advanced geological surveying. The project ... More Information

Čučković: Construction of the tunnel boring machine for the Belgrade Metro in final phase

It is a good thing that we, for example, acquired these tunnel boring machines at a lower price than other countries... More Information

Serbia plans to borrow 2.5 billion EUR in 2026 for the construction of the Belgrade metro

It is also stated that two TBMs (tunnel boring machines), the so-called moles, have already been ordered and are expected to be delivered to ... More Information

VSM starts operation at Tilbury

The pioneering Vertical Shaft Sinking Machine (VSM) from Herrenknecht, named “Verena”, after Verena Holmes, a pioneering British mechanical ... More Information