The latest milestone in Costain’s EUR230 million contract on National Grid’s London Power Tunnels project, which is being constructed with Skanska, has been reached eight days ahead of schedule. On 15.08.2013 TBM Evelyn broke through into a pre-prepared shaft at Wimbledon, southwest London, completing a 3 km-long drive from Wandsworth in just four months. It completes the latest stage in the creation of 32 km of tunnels being built to house a new generation of 400kV electricity cables under London.

Evelyn is now being dismantled and split up into her principal component parts to be inspected and refurbished ready for her next and final drive on this project: 9 km from Wandsworth to Kensal Green in northwest London – this is the longest drive on the 3 m-id section of the project and takes the tunnel under the River Thames. This will begin at the end of October, and is due to be completed by the end of 2014.

Evelyn’s ‘sister’ TBM Cleopatra meanwhile is currently digging a 13 km stretch of the tunnel between St John’s Wood in the west of the capital and Hackney in the east. Cleopatra has recently begun her second drive from the Eade Road drive site in Haringey to Hackney.

Tunnelling on the project should be complete by the end of 2014, and London Power Tunnels should be fully operational by 2018. Click here and uk/53 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit www.nationalgrid.com and www.costain.com. 37/13.