China completes world’s largest-diameter underwater shield tunnel
The 5,755-metre project in Shandong Province will reduce the travel time for vehicles crossing the Yellow River to around five minutes
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Photo source: jamesteohart / iStock
The world’s largest-diameter underwater shield tunnel has been completed and put into operation in Jinan, Shandong Province, according to Global Times, a partner of TV BRICS. The infrastructure project is designed to improve connectivity across the Yellow River and enhance transport efficiency in the city.
The tunnel is 5,755 metres long and features a single-bore, double-deck structure with a designed speed of 60 kilometres per hour. Its shield section extends for about 3,290 metres and was constructed using a tunnel boring machine (TBM) with an excavation diameter of 17.5 metres.
The project is China’s first single-bore, double-deck shield tunnel to pass beneath the Yellow River. Its construction route crossed technically sensitive areas, including the river itself and the surrounding embankment, requiring advanced engineering solutions.
Engineers addressed 28 major technical challenges, covering excavation stability, settlement control, the uplift of large tunnel segments and the efficient treatment of construction slurry. The project reached a maximum daily excavation rate of 18 metres and a monthly advance of 426 metres, setting a world record for 17-metre-class shield tunnelling.
Once fully operational for traffic, the tunnel is expected to cut the time needed for vehicles to cross the Yellow River from approximately 30-40 minutes to 5 minutes. The project demonstrates the growing application of advanced shield tunnelling technologies in major infrastructure development.
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