Boring Begins on the San Vicente Pipeline ProjectA Robbins hard rock main beam TBM began boring a section of the San Vicente pipeline in San Diego, California on 21st June, 2006. The 3.5 m-diameter TBM will bore two of the six sections of tunnel, totalling about 2.75 km. TBM assembly began on 10th May, 2006 and was finished in only 30 working days. Visit www.robbinstbm.comIn 2005, the San Diego County Water Authority, project owner, awarded the construction contract for the pipeline to the Traylor-Shea joint venture. The contracting JV Traylor-Shea awarded the order to Robbins for the TBM and back-up system in August 2005. The contract specifies a 1.2-1.8 km section to be bored by the TBM west of the San Vicente portal. The length of bored tunnel will vary depending on the geology encountered. The machine will then be removed and re-launched at the west shaft to bore another 1.3 km section. The San Vicente pipeline, 17.7 km in length, connects the San Vicente reservoir in Lakeside to the San Diego County Water Authority's second aqueduct. Like the Lake Hodges-Olivenhain Reservoir water tunnel (click here), the pipeline is part of the SDCWA's emergency storage project that will provide water to the city in the event of a drought or major earthquake. The project is currently slated to finish in 2008. Click here. The refurbished TBM features 432 mm cutters to bore through granitic rock with an unconfined compressive strength of 140 to 345 MPa. The back-up system consists of 11 decks and muck is being removed via muck cars. Click us/47. Visit www.sdcwa.org/infra/esp-sanvicente.phtml 31-32/06.