In the rumbling sound of explosions, the G0711 line Urumqi to Yuli Expressway Tianshan Shengli Tunnel reported another good news. As of April 22, the left and right main tunnels of the tunnel have been excavated more than 18,200 meters, and less than 4 kilometers will be excavated through the Tianshan Mountains, which is one step closer to the goal of breakthrough within the year.
The builders are working in the main tunnel of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel. Photo by reporter Shi Chuanzhi and correspondent Liu Xinpeng
The "throat" project of Wuwei Expressway - Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is 22.13 kilometers long, which is the longest highway tunnel in the world, and is also a typical extra-long, alpine and high-altitude highway tunnel in the domestic highway under construction.
Since the construction of the tunnel, excavation has been carried out in opposite directions from both ends of the inlet and outlet. The builders overcame the difficulties of cold climate, many geological fault alteration zones, large amount of mud inrush in the cave, complicated processes, and remote transportation, and successfully crossed a number of dangerous fracture fault zones through continuous innovation and improvement of technology, and the construction progressed steadily.
"Since the beginning of this year, we have paid close attention to the third morning of winter, implemented the third morning of spring, planned early, worked hard of all employees, and sprinted to the annual goal. Wang Heqi, manager of the fifth section of the civil engineering section of the Wuwei Expressway of China Communications Construction Xinjiang Wuwei Expressway, who is responsible for the construction of the entrance end of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, said that the cumulative excavation footage of the left main tunnel at the entrance end has reached 8,594 meters, and the cumulative footage of the right tunnel has reached 8,483 meters, with a total footage of 17,077 meters, accounting for 77.2% of the overall excavation task of the main tunnel, and successfully breaking through the 17-kilometer mark.
The reporter learned from the project department of the sixth section of the civil engineering section of the Xinjiang Wuwei Expressway of China Communications Construction Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the construction of the entrance end of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, that the left hole at the exit end has been excavated by a total of 9685.2 meters and the right hole has been excavated by 9756.1 meters.
The builders are working in the main tunnel of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel. Photo by reporter Shi Chuanzhi and correspondent Liu Xinpeng
The middle pilot tunnel is also being excavated intensively, and only about 1 km will be left to achieve the breakthrough of the middle pilot tunnel.
According to the construction plan, by the end of this year, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel will strive to achieve full breakthrough. At present, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel excavation continues to make breakthroughs, laying the foundation for the tunnel to break through as scheduled.
After the breakthrough of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, it is expected that it will only take more than 20 minutes to drive through the Tianshan Mountains. After the opening of the Wuwei Expressway, the driving time from Urumqi to Korla will also be shortened from more than 6 hours to 3 hours, which will greatly facilitate the interconnection between the north and south of Xinjiang.
Source: Urumqi Rong Media Center/Urumqi Evening News
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