SCL completion enables final Crossrail TBM push 2 Dec 2014

The final Crossrail TBM push towards completing the 21km of twin running tunnels under London has resumed following completion of another project milestone.

Celebrating SCL works completion at Whitechapel Station, l-r, Graham Welsh (Dragados Sisk), Peter Walsh (BBMV), Paul Sperring (Dragados Sisk), and Nigel Russell (BBMV).

BBMV, the joint venture comprising Balfour Beatty, BeMo Tunnelling, Morgan Sindall and Vinci Construction Grands Projets – which is delivering two sections of the £15bn Crossrail project – has completed the sprayed concrete lining (SCL) of the two tunnels that will form the space occupied by the station platforms at the new Whitechapel Station.

Completion of the SCL works has enabled the Dragados Sisk joint venture to move the two remaining active TBMs on the project through the station to commence the final tunnelling push underneath London’s East End towards Liverpool Street Station and on to final project breakthrough at Farringdon Station.

Now that the TBMs – Elizabeth and Victoria – have completely passed through Whitechapel Station the BBMV team will complete secondary lining works ready for handover to its sister project for platform construction.

Completion of the second 900m drive between Limmo and Victoria dock by TBM Ellie at the end of October (2014), means that Elizabeth and Victoria are the last two remaining machines currently active in the ground (Table 1). With Victoria having now completed 5,495m of her 8,300m drive, and Elizabeth 5,870m of hers, only 5.2km of an initial 42km of tunnelling still remains.

See the Gallery below for a collection of some of the latest Crossrail platform and underground station images as the project moves towards 90% tunnelling completion and 60% project completion.

* All eight TBMs for Crossrail are manufactured by Herrenknecht

Gallery