In March 2020 Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), the joint venture consisting of Dragados USA, Flatiron Constructors, Vinci Construction and Dodin Campenon Bernard,  commissioned Herrenknecht to design, fabricate and deliver the TBM that will mine the twin tunnels between the cities of Hampton and Norfolk, next to the existing Hampton Roads Bridge/Tunnel (HRBT). School children from Hampton Roads will choose the name for the TBM.

By the spring of 2021, manufacturing of the 14.02 m (46-feet) diameter machine, the second-largest TBM ever used in the United States, should be near completion. Once finished, it will be assembled on site in Germany, tested, disassembled and prepared for shipping by boat to the project site. Approximately 4 months to ship the TBM from Germany with an anticipated arrival date in Hampton Roads of Fall 2021. Another 4-5 months to assemble the TBM on the HRBT's South Island in a 19.81 m (65-feet) launch pit . Tunnelling is expected to begin in early 2022.

The TBM will be launched from the South Island (Norfolk side) and it will advance 15.24 m (50 feet) per day (depending on soil conditions) down to the layer of soil known as the Yorktown layer, approximately below the current tunnels. The HRBT Expansion Project (new twin two-lane tunnels, wider interstate and 28 new or rebuilt bridges) costs EUR3.51 bn (USD3.8) billion. The price tag for the TBM alone is EUR93.21 million (USD101 million) which represents construction, shipping and assembly costs.

Click here to Review the HRBT Expansion Fact Sheet, here and us/125 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit www.hrbtexpansion.org. 18/20.