London’s super sewer Thames Tideway has installed its two final tunnel boring machines (TML) to begin digging the last stretches of the project.
The machines named Annie and Selina will bore at Greenwich Pumping Station and from Chambers Wharf to Abbey Mills respectively.
The TBMs reached the halfway point for the digging earlier this year however all non-critical work was paused during lockdown. It resumed in May with new measures in place that allow staff to socially distance.
Elsewhere on the project, work to begin adding the secondary lining layer to the sewers has begun at the Kirtling Street site.
One of two shutter machines used to cast the lining of the 5km stretch has been lowered to the bottom of the shaft.
Prior to lockdown dredging work had been started on the riverbeds at Deptford Creek and excavation was completed on 18 of the 21 shafts and 14km of tunnelling done.
Tideway, the company delivering the tunnel, is financed by Bazalgette Tunnel Limited, which in turn is owned by a consortium of investors. The cost will be spread across water bills of customers who benefit from the finished super sewer. The estimated completion date is in 2024.