The Gerede Water Transmission Tunnel in central Turkey has
been designated a national priority due to chronic drought conditions in the
capital Ankara. The water supply line is 31.6 km long and draws water from the
Gerede River and it will be the longest water tunnel in Turkey once complete.
It is being built by the Kolin/Limak joint venture and on the 19th
of December 2018 the 5.56 m diameter Robbins Crossover XRE TBM broke through in
Ankara, Turkey
The TBM was designed for ease of conversion between hard
rock and EPB modes. Dozens of fault zones and intense water pressures up to 20
bar are just a couple of the challenges the TBM had to overcome.
Prior to Robbins involvement, three standard Double Shield
TBMs, originally supplied by another manufacturer, attempted to bore the
tunnel.
Of the three, two became irretrievably stuck following
massive inflows of mud and debris. In 2016, a Robbins Crossover XRE machine was
launched to excavate the final 9 km (5.6 mi) of the 31.6 km (19.6 mi) long
water supply tunnel. For further information on the project click here and http://www.therobbinscompany.com/projects/gerede-water-transmission-tunnel/ and
visit http://www.therobbinscompany.com.
02/19.
