New South Wales’ Snowy 2.0 teams are monitoring a surface depression that has emerged above the project’s 17km long headrace tunnel at Tantangara. A statement released today (16th December) by the client says, “The integrity of the tunnel has not been compromised, and tunnelling is continuing while work to remediate the surface depression above TBM Florence is carried out. There is a safety exclusion zone around the surface depression.
“Ensuring the safety of the Snowy 2.0 workforce and members of the public is the priority for Snowy Hydro and principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture. The Snowy 2.0 teams are conducting geophysical investigations of the area and continuing grouting operations and probing from the TBM. “
The ground conditions encountered by the TBMs on Snowy 2.0 have been highly variable, ranging from very loose, sandy ground to extremely hard rock in fluctuating groundwater conditions.
TBM Florence, an 11m diameter Herrenknecht machine, is currently transitioning from soft material into harder rock conditions.
Webuild is leader of the Future Generation joint-venture with its U.S. subsidiary Lane and local partner Clough
Snowy 2.0 is the next chapter in the Snowy Scheme’s history. It is a nation-building renewable energy project that will provide on-demand energy and large-scale storage for many generations to come.
It is the largest committed renewable energy project in Australia. Snowy 2.0 will underpin the nation’s secure and stable transition to a low-carbon emissions future at the lowest cost for consumers.
The project involves linking two existing dams, Tantangara and Talbingo, through 27km of tunnels and building a new underground power station.
Would be useful to know what ground they were going through and type of machine (slurry, EPB etc) being used . If superficial sand and/or gravel deposits then possibly could be over-excavation (a possibly explanation for HS1 Lavender Street upward migration although no-one will admit it)