Here the top of the bifurcation chamber is being completed by hand after the concrete had been poured to form "the lid" of the chamber.
The top of the bifurcation chamber [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
31st January 2008
tunnelling Machine
On the 31st January 2008 the 53 Tonne Tunnel Boring Machine was lowered into the rising shaft in the Homs Road Car Park. As the 400m tunnel is dug out,
more sections will be added to the machine. As the tunnelling progresses at 10m to 12m per day, thus be hopefully completed by the end of May. The tunnel will
follow the line of the brook, thus it will have three corners in it.
The earth and rock being removed will extracted using a belt inside the machine and hauled out to the bund area by lorry. It is hoped that the Flood Alleviation
work will be completed by July 2008.
The tunnelling machine being prepared [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
The tunnelling machine over the shaft [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
Here we see the tunnelling machine or tunnelling equipment (TE) being prepared in the back of the lorry ready for the lift to get it into the rising shaft. Then there is a series of three photos showing the TE being lowered into the shaft.
The tunnelling machine being lowered [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
The tunnelling machine in the shaft [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
Below are a couple of shows showing the TE in the bottom of the shaft and then being manoeuvred into the prepared end of the tunnel ready to start boring.
The tunnelling machine being lowered [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
The tunnelling machine in the shaft [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
30th January 2008
tunnelling Machine
The tunnelling machine [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
The tunnelling machine on the lorry [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
Today the front part of the tunnelling machine arrived on the back of a low-loader lorry. The scale can be seen when compared to the person stood next to it showing that it has around a 6' diameter.
Traditionally, like ships, tunnelling machines are given names and this one has been named Victoria.
This machine is designed to cut through the bed rock and should be able to cover 10-20 meters a day. The spoil is carried back by an Archemedes screw
mechanism where it is then loaded into trucks that follow the machine.
The rear of the front stage of the tunnelling machine [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
29th January 2008
Fiveways
Bifurcation chamber [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
Here the shuttering/former has been put in place so that the top of the chamber can be added so that the concrete can be poured on top of this.
To the middle left can be seen the shuttering which will form the man access so that the chamber can be inspected.
Homs Road
In the bottom of the rising shaft the rails are being put in place that will initially carry the tunnelling machine into place and subsequently the engine and trucks to remove the spoil from the tunnelling operation.
Track being put in place [Courtesy of Nuttall's] (Click for a larger image)
1 The brook referred to as the Chatterley Brook is actually a unnamed brook that flows from Weston-under-Penyard past Chackley Grove.
It has only recently become referred to as the Chatterley Brook and locally it was previously known as Chackley Brook. 2Flood Work Hit By Weak Teeth Ross-on-Wye Journal - Wednesday May 14, 2008