By Lynda Myer
Considering that Beijing East Sixth Ring Road Reconstruction Project reported, its slurry TBM Jinghua, which is the first China-made 16 m-level shield machine, had successfully made a breakthrough on the west line tunnel on June 28th, the first line of China’s longest shield machine expressway tunnel is complete.
The 16.07m diameter TBM Jinghua, was produced by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited(CRCHI) and came off the assembly line on September 27th, 2020 at CRCHI Changsha headquarters. Being manufactured in China, this slurry TBM is 4,300-tonne and 150m-long and it is the first set of its kind to have been made.
Stretched from the south, starting at the Beijing-Harbin Expressway, to the north, ending at Luyuanbei Street, the Beijing East Sixth Ring Road Reconstruction Project is designed with a speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour and has a total length of around 16 kilometers. Benefiting the TBM tunneling method, the underground section of the project with almost 7.4 kilometers long is constructed.
While the tunnels are arranged in a separated dual-tunnel configuration, divided into three layers, application of the upper layer is as a smoke extraction channel, the middle layer accommodates a three-lane expressway, and the lower layer serves as an evacuation and rescue channel. With a maximum burial depth of 75 meters, making it the deepest underground tunnel in Beijing.
The mega large diameter, super long distance, ultra-deep burial depth, as well as an extra sensitive environment, were the challenges of this TBM tunnel construction. In order to ensuring the rapidity and safety of tunneling in complex geological conditions, which is mainly composed of sandy soil, water-rich and high-density sand, interactive layers of silt and cohesive soil, the machine has a series of advanced innovative technologies and numerous independent core technologies.
May 2021 was commissioning date of TBM Jinghua, whereas with advance rate of 24 meters per day and a maximum monthly progress of 542 meters, it has had a prominent performance. On September 25th, 2022, the TBM reached the intermediate air shaft with precise breakthrough and no problems.
As a landmark project in the construction of Beijing’s sub-center, the Beijing East Sixth Ring Road Reconstruction Project is due to promote the integration of Tongzhou District and the administrative office area of the sub-center following its inauguration, while it also will significantly improve Beijing’s transportation services, promote the integration of transportation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, and build a comprehensive transportation system.
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