Canadian-Chinese LOVSUNS Tunneling Canada Ltd has delivered the first China-Built TBM to the North American market, for the US$27M Blacksnake Creek Stormwater Separation Improvement Project in St. Joseph, Missouri.
“This is a huge step for LNSS and LOVSUNS in achieving our target to deliver high-quality tunnelling machines to the North American market,” said Hongyu Xue, General Manager of LOVSUNS in Toronto.
The 3.3m diameter double shield rock TBM, designed and engineered by the Canadian LOVSUNS team and built by its parent company Liaoning Censcience Industry Co. Ltd. (LNSS) at its Liaoyang facilities in China, will be delivered to Super Excavators Inc. in early 2018.
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The machine is designed to operate in double shield mode using a primary conveyor belt for spoil extraction. The TBM can be converted to EPB mode when operating in pressures up to 4 bar.
Mixed ground is expected along the alignment. The following soil and rock engineering units are classified and anticipated:
Soil Engineering Unit 1 – Coarse-Grained Soils: Fine to coarse sand and gravel, silty sand and sub-angular to angular rock fragments in varying proportions with less than 50% passing the 200mm sieve.
Soil Engineering Unit 2 – Fine-Grained Soils: Silts and clays in varying proportions with more than 50% passing the 200mm sieve.
Rock Engineering Unit 1: Shale with limestone present in seams and a UCS of 2,000 PSI.
The alignment is expected to consist of 23% soil engineering units 1 and 2; 63% of the rock engineering unit; and 14% of mixed ground.
The Blacksnake Creek project will intercept and convey flows from the creek via the new bored tunnel system.
The project comprises a 2.32km long tunnel with a 2.3m i.d. segmental concrete lining (precast gaskets) and a 38m long crossing of the railroad with a 2.3m diameter auger bore. Altogether, five shafts including launch and target shafts will be built.
The construction works are expected to be complete in mid to end of 2019.
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