Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link's tube section transported from Nansha

The steel shell of the E20 tube section is about to be transported to Zhuhai from Guangzhou's Nansha district. [Photo/gznsnews.com.cn]

The steel shell of the E20 tube section of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan immersed tube tunnel was successfully transported from Guangzhou's Nansha district to Zhuhai on March 15, after six-channel conversions.

In the future, the E20 pipe section will undergo self-compacting concrete pouring, primary outfitting, and secondary outfitting in Zhuhai to prepare for the installation of the immersed pipe.

The E20 joint steel shell is 165 meters long, 46 meters wide, and 10.6 meters high, with a total weight of nearly 10,000 metric tons.

The outer plate of the E20 pipe section built this time is thin, which is prone to deformation during lifting and processing, resulting in dislocation of the steel shell structure.

After the steel shell of the E20 pipe joint is basically ready for inspection, the engineering team will conduct a negative pressure tightness inspection on each compartment to ensure its sealing, said Long Hanxin, chief engineer of the GK01 section of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link.

So far, 23 sink and drop joints have been completed in the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, and the installation length of pipe joints reaches 3,547.8 meters.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link undersea tunnel is 6,845 meters long, including a 5,035-meter-long immersed tube section, which is composed of 32 pipe joints and one final joint. It is the world's first bi-directional eight-lane steel-shell concrete immersed tube tunnel.

At present, the construction of the undersea tunnel of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link project is ongoing.