By ashleykaren
URUMQI stated that the great TBMs on Monday have passed through the most complex and hazardous part of the Tianshan Shengli tunnel in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a 22-km-long expressway tunnel that is going to be the country’s longest under construction.
According to the announcement of the China Communications Construction Company Ltd The riskiest and complex part lies in the 1,900 meters from the entrance. A 400-meter-long fault zone with a very complex geological framework required the technicians 80 days to break through it.
The tunnel is a key part of a 1,300-km expressway connecting the capital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, with Yuli County, 50-km south of Korla in central Xinjiang.
The tunnel construction, at a height of 3,200 meters in the Tianshan Mountains, faces serious geological and climate challenges.
It is anticipated to be finished in 2025 and the expressway is going to become an arterial road linking northern and southern Xinjiang, decreasing the journey time from Urumqi to Korla from seven hours to three hours.
