The latest time lapse from the Waterview Connection project
The TBM is getting very close to the end of the first tunnel with it less than 300m to go.
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The latest time lapse from the Waterview Connection project
The TBM is getting very close to the end of the first tunnel with it less than 300m to go.
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No gonna make the pre-election photo-op? Joyce will be grumpy.
I’ve always wondered how a circular tunnel gets a flat roading deck. Wonder no more!
Now if we could only do the same type tunnel thing with steel rails bolted to the floor, and some kind of fast-moving conveyance travelling on top of them, transporting lots of people at one time. But that may just be science fiction…
And ever wondered how a government gets a huge hole in the ground and also in its budget? Wonder no more either..
Modern day underground tunneling is much faster and cheaper than it used to be (machine digging vs hand digging). That why many cities in china can build 10 new metro lines within a few years. It is really a economic of scale.
If Auckland has a bit more money, we could build a much larger scale metro network with just a little additional cost.
Good thinking. Both roads and rail can be delivered with little disruption to existing houses and roads. Perhaps Albert Street CRL should have less cut-and-cover and more boring machine.
CRL already has as much boring machine as is possible, its only like 700m cut and cover where its tricky.
Boring machines only work if you have sufficient ground cover above you. Just like you don’t use a nail on the edge of the board – you’ll only splinter it. In the middle of the board, the nail is fine.
Which is the reason they decided not to use a boring machine for that section. The tunnels aren’t deep enough yet coming out of Britomart and climbing the hill to the top of the ridge where they need to go. They’ve got tunnelling experts advising them, they’re not using two methods on one tunnel to get more variety into their lives! 😉
I also understand the section up Albert is quite technically tricky as not only is it just above the surface but has to thread through other infrastructure e.g. under Victoria St is the main wastewater pipe for a large part of the western isthmus. The CRL tunnel will be between that pipe and the surface.
London’s Crossrail tunnels only require only a 7.1 metre bore and so will ours for the CRL, which is a hell of a lot less than is required at Waterview. The big cost to do properly will be the construction of the stations but they really do need to be done properly first time!
There seems to be an incredible, covered, underground cycleway waiting to happen under that flat piece of road….