TBM Emmeline has started her tunnel drive for the 7m-diameter and 1.8km long outfall tunnel and it is now in full-bore mode 33m beneath the seabed of the Bristol Channel with a 19 m per day average advancement. Its name was chosen by the Stogursey Church of England Primary School to honour Lady Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence a women’s rights activist who was born in Bristol.
The outfall tunnel is part of the system that will pump water around the Hinkley Point C’s power station to keep the reactors at the right temperature.
Last December the first TBM, named Mary, completed the excavation of the 1st intake tunnel which was 3.5 km long and under the Bristol Channel.
TBM Beatrice is preparing for launch as equipment is transferred from Mary. It will drive the 2nd intake tunnel. Beatrice’s name was chosen by Cannington Church of England Primary School, Year 5 Beech Class in honour of Beatrice Shilling (1909 – 1990) an engineer, born in Waterlooville, who designed the RAE Restrictor to prevent Merlin engines in Hurricane and Spitfire fighter jets cutting out during nosedives.
In 2017 Balfour Beatty secured the contract for the proposed GBP 18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset, UK, including the construction of the 3 marine tunnels totalling more than 9.5km in length and 7 m in diameter. Click here for the tunnelbuilder archive. For further information please visit https://www.edfenergy.com and https://www.balfourbeatty.com/. 12/21.
