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Annual Review 2018

Welcome to the ninth edition of the TunnelTalk Annual Review, recording the main achievements, developments and activities of the underground engineering and construction industry throughout the year of 2018 and into early 2019.

The year was a focus on immersed tubes versus TBM drives to provide underwater crossings, as selected for the second tube for the highway crossing of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia (above).

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The main event of the year was completion of the extraordinary 55km long Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau bridge-tunnel sea link of which the 6.7km long immersed tube between two man-made transition islands was a vital element to take the link under the important Pearl Delta shipping channels.

55km long bridge-tunnel sea link (above) with the 6.7km immersed tube element between two man-made transition islands taking the link under the shipping channels (below)

In the USA, the section of a TBM drive rather than a second immersed tube to provide the urgently needed parallel carriageway for the Hampton Roads crossing followed selection of a TBM for the second tube along side the existing immersed tube for the Thimble Shoals highway crossing of Chesapeake Bay.

TBMs were also being proposed instead of an immersed tube option for renewed interest in the Helsinki-Tallinn fixed sea link between Finland and Estonia.

On the contratry, a TBM option was dismissed and planning and procurement progressed for the world's largest immersed tube link to create the mega 18km double-track railway and four-lane highway undersea fixed link across the Fehmarnbaelt between Denmark and Germany - 89 elements of 217m long x 8.9m high x 42.2m wide and weighing 73,500 tonne each creating the link.

In other editions, the TunnelTalk Annual Review chronicles other immersed tube, TBM and drill+blast undersea road and rail fixed links including the Tuen Mun-Check Lap Kok Link in Hong Kong and Port of Miami link in the USA; advance of the Rogfast and Ryfast undersea drill+blast highway links under the fjords in Norway; and the Midtown, USA, immersed tube and plans for new highway immersed tubes across Sydney Harbour in Australia.

CONTENT of the 2018 ANNUAL REVIEW EDITION

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

MAJOR PROJECTS

DISCUSSION FORUM

PROJECT PROGRESS: AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND

PROJECT PROGRESS: THE AMERICAS

PROJECT PROGRESS: EUROPE

PROJECT PROGRESS: ASIA

PROJECT PROGRESS: MIDDLE EAST and AFRICA

INDUSTRY NEWS, HONOURS and AWARDS

The TunnelTalk Annual Review is the only yearbook record of activity in the global underground space construction industry. Yearbook editions are available for the years 2010 to 2020-2021, both as digital and printed hard copy versions. Contact TunnelTalk@TunnelTalk.com to purchase hard printed copies of the 2010 to 2018 Annual Review editions for your bookshelf.

PUBLISHER & EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Shani Wallis

DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER: Claire Hunt

Copyright© TunnelTalk 2018. All rights reserved.

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