The Technical Difficulties and Innovations of Immersed Tunnel in Hongkong Zhuhai Macao Bridge Project
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Graphical Abstract
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Abstract
The Hongkong Zhuhai Macao Bridge (HZMB) Project, 55 km long, links Hongkong, Macao and the Mainland China Zhuhai city. It is a combination engineering of bridges, islands and tunnel in which the two offshore artificial islands are used as transition between bridges and tunnel. With a length of approximately 6.7 km, the immersed tunnel becomes the world′s longest highway concrete immersed tunnel. It is the controlling work of the whole link. To accommodate the passing of 3 million tons vessels, the maximum tunnel depth is 45 m below sea level, being one of the deepest in the world. When also taking into account the varying and relative poor soil conditions, the large tunnel spans, the offshore conditions for construction and the complex connection of two artificial islands which are reclaimed in poor soil conditions, the HZMB Link can be considered as one of the most challenging projects worldwide. From project consultant point of view, the paper introduces the general information of HZMB project but with details on the technical difficulties of the immersed tunnel, which includes: Tunnel structural design, tunnel foundation design, tunnel element production, transport and immersion, closure joint, durability, etc. Finally, the opinion on the main innovations of the immersed tunnel will be introduced. It will be right the time of "through-going" of whole tunnel construction when the paper is to be published, which also means the "through-going" of the whole link construction. As one of the involved companies, this paper expresses also our congratulation to this great milestone of the project.
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