On April 20, 2026, in the deep mountains of Chengguan Town, Baokang County, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, the TBM cutterhead of Jianghan Yunmeng was spinning with a deafening roar. With the successful completion of the 11th maintenance access tunnel of the 5th section of the Yangtze River Diversion Project on April 15th, the project has officially entered the construction phase of the main tunnel. The breakthrough at this point marks a crucial step forward for this world-class deep buried tunnel in overcoming complex geological challenges.

The Yangtze River Diversion Project is the first major project of the follow-up project of the South to North Water Diversion Project, and it is also a backbone project of the national water network. The total length of the project is 194.8 kilometers, with a designed average annual water intake of 3.9 billion cubic meters. After completion, it will divert water from the Yangtze River into the Han River, fundamentally alleviating the water shortage problem in the Han River basin. At present, the cumulative excavation of the main tunnel along the entire line has exceeded 21 kilometers, accounting for about one tenth of the total length of the main water conveyance tunnel.

At the construction site of Baokang section, the geological conditions are extremely complex, facing multiple challenges such as soft rock deformation, fault fracture zones, and groundwater surges. To ensure progress, the construction party has adopted intelligent TBM excavation technology, which improves monthly excavation efficiency to industry-leading levels through real-time monitoring of surrounding rock stress and automatic guidance systems. The completion of the 11th maintenance access tunnel not only provides an efficient logistics and ventilation channel for the construction of the main tunnel, but also provides a solid guarantee for the continuous excavation of the Jianghan Yunmeng in deep buried strata. Keywords: infrastructure engineering, water conservancy engineering

As an underground dragon connecting the Yangtze River and the Han River, the completion of the Yangtze River and Han River Diversion Project will benefit provinces and cities such as Henan, Hebei, Tianjin, and Beijing, significantly enhancing the water resources carrying capacity of North China. At present, engineering construction is accelerating comprehensively, and thousands of builders are striving to achieve the annual milestone goals with a deep tackling attitude.Editor/Cheng Liting