Children to name tunnel-boring machine as work starts on culvert

A 15-TONNE tunnel-boring machine is to be officially named by schoolchildren at a ceremony today marking the start of work on the final phase of a £22m flood scheme.

The 26ft machine will be used to excavate the northern section of an underground flood water culvert as part of the Anlaby and East Ella Flood Alleviation Scheme (AEEFAS).

Pupils from nearby Hull Collegiate School were asked to suggest names for the tunnelling machine, continuing a long tradition in mining circles.

The latest machine will join the ‘West Ella Worm’ which has been cutting its way though tonnes of chalk rock, installing nearly half a kilometre of tunnel.

The two tunnellers will now work together to complete the 1.5km pipeline, which will provide badly needed flood alleviation for thousands of homes.

Work first began on AEEFAS in July 2017 which consists of a huge water storage lagoon linked by a series of flood water channels and drainage pipes between West Ella and Anlaby.

Work should be completed by early 2020.

The scheme has been designed to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 4,000 homes and more than 70 businesses in the Anlaby, East Ella and Hessle areas, which were badly affected during the devastating floods of June 2007. The three-year scheme is being delivered by East Riding of Council in partnership with Hull City Council and the Environment Agency.