Spirits rise as the new Tyne Tunnel sinks

Feb 24 2010 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

Sand and gravel will be used to cover the sections, which will be topped with a protective layer of Lake District granite. At its deepest, the tunnel will be around 13 metres below low tide level.

The new tunnel will be rectangular in shape compared to the earlier circular vehicle tunnel.

The internal bulk head walls and ballast tanks will be removed so that by late spring there will be clear passage from one side of the river to the other.

Paul Fenwick, project director for the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, said: “I’m delighted to see this final section of the tunnel being lowered into place. The river section is one of the most technically challenging parts of the New Tyne Crossing.”

He said that “great credit” was due to main contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics and principal sub-contractor VolkerStevin Marine.

“There are a lot of things that can go wrong in an operation like this, but the team which is working on this are experienced and so far everything has gone well,” said Mr Fenwick.

“There are around 200 immersed tube tunnels in the world and this is a tried and tested system.”

The project overall is proceeding to programme and is about 60% of the way through construction. The new vehicle tunnel remains on target to open to traffic this time next year, at which point the existing tunnel will close for major refurbishment.

Both tunnels will be operational by the beginning of 2012.