The super-large shield tunneling machine "Xingye" started drilling of the main line tunnel for Xingye Express Road under an urban area in New Xiangzhou on April 28, following six months of debugging work that started in November 2021.

"Xingye" was customized for the Xingye Express Road project by the constructor CCCC Tunnel Engineering. It weighs 4,500 tons and is 135 meters (443 feet) long with a diameter of 15.76 m (52 ft). Together with an unnamed tunneling machine that has an 11.73-m (38-1/2 ft) diameter, they will drill two long-distance overlapped tunnels with a super-large diameter. 

Ultra-large shield tunneling machine "Xingye" starts drilling on April 28 [Photo by Li Jianshu / WeChat account: zhuhaifabu]

Tunneling work began under Xingye Road, north of Yinhua Road, and will continue through a complex geological environment in downtown Zhuhai, which consists of silty soil, as well as liquefied sand layers, fault zones, boulders, and granite.

"Xingye" will drill a 1,739-m (1-mile) tunnel, with partially stacked two-way lanes, which is different from traditional parallel tunnels. The other tunneling machine will start work on the project's ramps when "Xingye" approaches Ningxi Road.

The two-way four-lane north and south sections of the Xingye Express line stretch southward from Xingye Road south of East Meihua Road, with ramps built near Dantian Square, Ningxi Campus of Zhuhai Women's and Children's Hospital, and Zhuhai Number 5 Middle School.

After the Xingye Express Road connects with Jiuzhou Avenue near Bailian Road in Jida, a south extension is expected to start construction to realize the connection between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and future Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in Tangjiawan.