India largest diameter shield machine helps Mumbai tunnel run through smoothly

On January 10, 2022 local time, the first section of Mumbai coastal highway tunnel was successfully opened. CRCC heavy industries provided a 12.19m super large diameter slurry balance shield machine for the project, which is the largest diameter shield machine in India and helps the tunnel penetration.

It is reported that the construction of Mumbai coastal roads is mainly to alleviate the traffic congestion between the southern and western suburbs of Mumbai. With a total length of 30.7 kilometers, the coastal highway is expected to have a traffic volume of 130000 vehicles per day, which can shorten the travel time between the southern and western suburbs of Mumbai from 2 hours to 40 minutes. Shield tunnel is the most critical node bid section of coastal highway project. The single track section is 2070m long, and the tunnel construction has the geological characteristics and technical difficulties of large excavation section, shallow initial buried depth, proximity to coastline, small turning radius, high rock strength and so on.

In the face of many challenges, the shield machine successfully crossed basalt, breccia, shale, clay and other composite strata, experienced fracture zones and zero settlement for many times, crossed the old houses for more than 100 years, and successfully reached the receiving shaft after completing the small curvature construction of 380m. It is understood that since the implementation of the project, the iron construction and heavy industry service team faced with the grim COVID-19, did not shrink back, providing customers with one-stop technology services such as assembly, commissioning and trial tunneling, and continued to escort the smooth tunneling of equipment for 24 hours, winning the trust and high praise of customers and owners. Previously, China railway construction heavy industry has successfully connected three shield machines in Bangalore Metro. Shield machines exported to India have been fully affirmed by customers with excellent performance and strength, which has laid a solid foundation for China railway construction heavy industry to develop its overseas market and become another successful model for Chinese manufacturing to go global.