On 24.02.2017 the TBM named La Guaragua, the first of three machines involved in the Metro de Quito project, started tunnelling works. The machine, arrived in Guayaquil on the 13.11.2016 and will excavate the 7.5km section from El Labrador to La Alameda station. The process should take about 21 months. The second TBM, which arrived in Guayaquil on the 22.11.2016, and was named Luz de America is still in the assembly stage in Solanda, and will eventually drive the 8.1km Solanda to La Alameda section. The final TBM Carolina will drive 3.6km from Solanda to the Exit Shaft section between la Moran Valverde and Quitumbe. 

The TBM La Guaragua which has a diameter 9.4 m, and a weight of 1200 t, and a length of a 100 m, will operate between 15 to 25 meters deep and will advance 400m per month. The 22 km Metro de Quito tunnel will install 14,000 rings and 98,000 segments. Two segment factories have been built for the construction of the Metro de Quito Line 1. One in the north in Fondo de Saco and another in Quitumbe. Each factory will produce 15 rings/day or 22.5 m/day. 

The extraction of the earth will be done using conveyor belts. The muck will be extracted from the Fondo de Saco (northern side of El Labrador). Part of the land extracted will be re-used for the construction of the Parque Bicentenario, and for other complementary works in the city. Click here and ec/19 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit http://www.metrodequito.gob.ec. 09/17.