• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Friday, July 18, 2025
Newsletter
  • News
  • Trenchless Technology
    • Asset management
    • New Technology
    • Software
    • Telecommunications
    • CCTV
    • Emission reduction
    • Rehab & repair
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Installation
  • Trenchless Solutions
    • Microtunnelling
    • HDD
    • Vacuum and hydro excavation
    • Tunnel boring machines
    • Pipe jacking
    • Slip lining
    • Drain cleaning
    • Relining
    • CIPP
  • Trenchless Projects
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Middle East
    • Contract awards
    • Transport
    • Water
    • Wastewater
    • Cross River
  • Trenchless Resources
    • Government announcements
    • Tenders
    • Quarterly and half yearly results
    • People on the Move
  • ISTT
No Results
View All Results
  • News
  • Trenchless Technology
    • Asset management
    • New Technology
    • Software
    • Telecommunications
    • CCTV
    • Emission reduction
    • Rehab & repair
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Installation
  • Trenchless Solutions
    • Microtunnelling
    • HDD
    • Vacuum and hydro excavation
    • Tunnel boring machines
    • Pipe jacking
    • Slip lining
    • Drain cleaning
    • Relining
    • CIPP
  • Trenchless Projects
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Middle East
    • Contract awards
    • Transport
    • Water
    • Wastewater
    • Cross River
  • Trenchless Resources
    • Government announcements
    • Tenders
    • Quarterly and half yearly results
    • People on the Move
  • ISTT
No Results
View All Results
Home News

Herrenknecht makes breakthrough with engineering wonder

by Joseph Misuraca
February 24, 2025
in Europe, International, News, North America, Trenchless News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Photo 1 The big moment: breakthrough for the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel. Image: Herrenknecht

The big moment: breakthrough for the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel. Image: Herrenknecht

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a 37-kilometre-long structure of bridges and tunnels for motor traffic in Virginia in the US, which Herrenknecht AG fully excavated with its tunnel boring machine.

Near the city of Norfolk and the adjacent naval base in the US state of Virginia, it connects the Hampton Roads region with the Delmarva Peninsula (part of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia).

A previous bottleneck is now to be eliminated. At the end of January, a tunnel boring machine from Herrenknecht achieved a breakthrough for a tunnel that will contribute to this in the future.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (officially known as the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge-Tunnel) has been one of the largest structures of its kind since it opened in 1964.

Bridges and tunnels alternate between four artificially raised islands over a length of 37 kilometers. Four million vehicles a year pass through the bridge-tunnel in a northerly or southerly direction.

Following it opening in 1964, it was named one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.

TBM “Chessie” at the Herrenknecht plant in Schwanau, Germany. Image: Herrenknecht
TBM “Chessie” at the Herrenknecht plant in
Schwanau, Germany. Image: Herrenknecht

In 1965 it was awarded the “Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement”, by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Since 1999, large sections have been widened from two to four lanes: there is a separate bridge with two lanes for each direction of travel.

The Thimble Shoal Tunnel, which passes under a shipping channel, has been a bottleneck. For around two kilometres, traffic is reduced to two lanes, one in each direction, to pass through the tunnel. This is set to change from 2028. The next step is to line the road in the new tunnel.

A so-called Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) shield with a diameter of 13,210 mm, a drive power of 7,000 kW and 46,183 kNm of torque was used.

Herrenknecht’s EPB technology with its earth pressure support is designed for comparatively soft, fine-grained soils and medium earth and water pressures, such as those found when crossing sea floors and rivers at shallow depths.

Related Posts

Image: Dee karen / stock.adobe.com

AI tool to support trenchless education

by Gerald Lynch
July 15, 2025

The ISTT Technology and Education Committee has unveiled a new AI-powered feature on its website, designed to make trenchless technology...

View of Vancouver in Canada. Image: International Society for Trenchless Technology.

Registrations open for International No-Dig Vancouver

by Gerald Lynch
July 15, 2025

Registrations are now open for the highly anticipated International No-Dig & NASTT 2025 No-Dig North Conference and Exhibition. Attendees can...

After completing its 240m drive, The TBM sat on the seabed for two weeks before being secured to the keel of a 4m long barge and brought into Onehunga Harbour. Image: Watercare

TBM returns after installation

by Gerald Lynch
July 14, 2025

A 19.5 tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) docked at Onehunga Wharf after successfully tunnelling Watercare’s $22m Clarks Beach Outfall over...

Join our newsletter

Global Trenchless is the leading source of news and information for the international trenchless market. As the International Society for Trenchless Technology’s (ISTT) official digital media partner, we give unparallel access to key decision makers in the no-dig sector.

Subscribe to our newsletter

About Global Trenchless

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • News
  • Water Utilities
  • Installation
  • Trenchless Solutions
  • International
  • New Zealand
  • Europe

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
  • News
  • Trenchless Technology
    • Asset management
    • New Technology
    • Software
    • Telecommunications
    • CCTV
    • Emission reduction
    • Rehab & repair
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Installation
  • Trenchless Solutions
    • Microtunnelling
    • HDD
    • Vacuum and hydro excavation
    • Tunnel boring machines
    • Pipe jacking
    • Slip lining
    • Drain cleaning
    • Relining
    • CIPP
  • Trenchless Projects
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Middle East
    • Contract awards
    • Transport
    • Water
    • Wastewater
    • Cross River
  • Trenchless Resources
    • Government announcements
    • Tenders
    • Quarterly and half yearly results
    • People on the Move
  • ISTT
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited