TUNNELING

The M26 motorway needs something a bit better than an auger bore, and so they call in the Tunnel Tigers, who push a bore lined with concrete sleeves that prevent any future subsidence.

A bellhole is dug on one side of the motorway, a concrete bed for the rails, a concrete wall for the rams to push against, and in unstable areas, a concrete wall at the tunneling face.

The Tunnel Tigers in person, Pat Doogan, John Sweeney and Paul Duffy

Paul travels down the tunnel as the skip is winched to the digging face

Pat & Paul attach the crane brothers to lift the spoil back up to Eugene and Shane waiting on the spoil heap.

Meanwhile...... on the other side of the motorway, two excavators are digging an enormous bellhole

The whole digging head slowly emerges into the sunshine.

The digging head goes in first, pushed steadily forward by the concrete sleeves and the rams. Steel inserts make up for the very powerful but short reach of the rams.

Gary "The Crane" drops in the empty skip.

John operates the digging arm, pulling spoil back onto the conveyor and into the skip, which is then winched back out again.

Pat operates the hydraulic rams to advance the tunnel a bit further

A shout from John, and the digging head breaks through into daylight again

Next morning the ditching crew arrives to slide the sections of pipe through the tunnel

As each section of pipe is winched through, the welders attach the next section.