Recently, the Jintang undersea tunnel project of the Ningbo-Zhou Railway has made important progress. The 460-ton Dinghai shield machine cutter head decorated with the Dragon King pattern of the East China Sea has been successfully lifted to the Zhoushan side shield launch shaft, laying a solid foundation for the shield machine's feat of crossing the seabed. This marks that the Jintang Undersea Tunnel is about to officially start its construction journey, further shortening the distance between Ningbo and Zhoushan.

As a control project of the Ningbo-Zhou Railway, the Jintang Undersea Tunnel is 16.18 kilometers long, of which the undersea shield section occupies 11.21 kilometers. The maximum burial depth and maximum water depth reach 78 meters and 39 meters respectively. Tunnel construction faces multiple challenges such as large cross-sections, high water pressure, and complex seabed geological conditions. However, the builders have faced the difficulties and overcome them with firm determination and superb technology.

Dinghaihao shield machine, the giant among shield machines, has a total length of 135 meters and a total weight of about 4,350 tons, which is 8 times heavier than ordinary models. It consists of a cutterhead, a main engine, an equipment bridge and four trailers. The cutterhead has a diameter of 14.57 meters, like a huge sword, ready to pierce the hard rock formations on the seabed. The pattern of the Dragon King of the East China Sea painted on the cutter head not only symbolizes the divine dragon that anchors the sea, but also shows the builders’ ambition to challenge world-class engineering problems.

The Dinghai shield machine, which starts from the Jintang working shaft on Jintang Island, Zhoushan City, will tunnel 6,270 meters eastward, crossing the Jintang submarine waters, and will meet up with the Yongzhou shield machine, which tunnels from west to east, at the depths of the seabed. . The final assembly level of these twin brother shield machines has reached world-class level, and they will write a legend together on the seabed.

The construction of the Ningbo-Zhou Railway will not only fill the gap in Zhejiang Province’s last districted city without railways, but will also improve the layout of the railway network, promote the development of tourism along the route, and accelerate the integration of Zhoushan and Ningbo into major national development strategies. This railway will become an important link connecting Ningbo and Zhoushan, injecting new vitality into the economic and social development of the two cities.

With the smooth lifting of the Dinghai shield machine cutterhead, the Jintang undersea tunnel project has taken a solid step. We look forward to the smooth connection of this undersea dragon in the near future, contributing new strength to the transportation development of Zhejiang Province and even the country.Editor/Cheng Liting