Route 2020 tunnelling works completed
15km extension of metro Red Line to Expo 2020 site includes 3.2km of underground track
Key tunnelling works have been completed for the Route 2020 Project, which is Dubai Metro’s link to the site of Expo 2020, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced yesterday.
Mattar Al Tayer, RTA’s director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors, announced the completion of the tunnelling works stretching 3.2km at a depth ranging from 12 metres to 36 metres.
“The tunnel-drilling works commenced last October as the giant Tunnel Boring Machine, branded ‘Al Wugeisha Expo 2020’, started drilling at Discovery Gardens and reached the underground station nearby Jumeirah Golf Estates, last February. The drilling works then continued past the Dubai Investment Park, and up to the final point at the Green Community,” said Al Tayer.
Al Tayer also said he was delighted with the on-schedule progress of the Route 2020 Project. Works in the metro viaducts are set for completion in November, and all railway works of the project will be accomplished in July 2019. The trial run of the metro on this route will start in February 2020.
Route 2020 is a five-stage project that will extend the existing Dubai Metro Red Line to the Expo 2020 site. It includes a 15km track consisting of 11.8km of elevated guideways and 3.2km of tunnel, with seven stations from Nakheel Harbour and Tower to the last Expo station.
Speaking on the tunnel boring machine, Al Tayer said Al Wugeisha can crush stones and penetrate through sandy layers or any other soil components encountered during the drilling process. It has a huge metal gear supported by an automated tail and a cutting wheel with a cavity the shape of which varies according to the type of drilling and soil layers. At the back of the cavity, there are hydraulic levers to support the propulsion of the drilling part to the front during the drilling process.
It is also fitted with a machine for removing the soil, tubes for discharging the mud, and a control room in addition to other hi-tech components and features to accelerate the drilling process. The single concrete ring has six to seven moulds, each ring measures about 1.5 metres in diameter.
He added: “Al Wugeisha is also environment-friendly and has no negative effects on land layers nearby the drilling area. Moreover, the tunnels it produces have symmetrical dimensions, which facilitates construction works and reduces the expenses of tunnel wall installation.”