By Lynda Myer
Following completion of the main tunneling work on London’s Silvertown Tunnel, currently Riverlinx CJV is digging the eight cross-passages between the two bores.
While the ground-freezing and building temporary propping into the cross-passage linings methods was used for delivery of the work, ducting which is due to be located underneath the carriageway in the tunnel is also being installed, so by the end of the year installation of the main road surface in the tunnel will commence, allowing for testing and final fit-out of the tunnel systems to start.
Also along with the new road layouts, work on the cut and cover sections, that includes the portal entrances, is continuing.
In late July the 1.1km journey beneath the River Thames from Greenwich to Newham was completed by TBM Jill after completing the first bore in February.
Already the amount of carried spoil via barge by conveyor system is over than 780,000 tones. The use of river transport to deliver to or from the site has avoided the need for more than 60,000 HGV and other delivery vehicle journeys to date. In order to forming landfill site in Essex as part of a restoration scheme, all TBM bored materials from tunneling are being transported along the Thames.
Additionally, the location of TBM was on nitrogen skates and it turned in a rotation chamber to begin the second bore northwards to Newham, at Greenwich.
Spoil from the second tunnel was fed back via the conveyor systems installed in the first tunnel to allow it to be removed by barge from the Newham site.
According to Transport for London’s head of the Silvertown Tunnel project, Helen Wright: “Completion of tunneling works was a massive milestone, and to complete it in under a year illustrated the project team’s hard work and close collaboration.”
She continued: “Engineers are working around the clock to deliver this project with minimal impact to those living, working and visiting the local area and we remain committed to delivering a project that supports growth in the local area and provide new public transport connections across the river.”
Riverlinx CJV project director Juan Angel Martinez congratulated everyone involved in delivering the project.
“The technical expertise, focus and collaboration of this team have enabled us to safely complete the main tunnel drive to program. The CJV formed by Ferrovial Construction, BAM Nuttall and SK Ecoplant has done a fantastic job implementing innovative and pioneering solutions for the UK such as the TBM rotation and frozen cross-passages. Working together with TfL as well as our many local stakeholders, Riverlinx is now focusing on the next stages of construction to successfully deliver this vital piece of infrastructure for London,” he said.
Connecting Newham on the north of the Thames to the Greenwich Peninsula on the south side, the twin-bore Silvertown Tunnel will ease congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. Moreover, the scheduled date for inaugurating this project is 2025.
