The Taihu tunnel, beneath Lake Taihu, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, is 10.79 km long and took four years to complete.
The eastern provinces of China have been subjected to far less architectural and infrastructural development as compared to the rest of the mainland. However, the tunnel beneath Lake Taihu is worth $1.56 billion (INR 1,15,18,65,00,000). The work for the 10.79 km long Taihu tunnel began in January, 2018.
According to the construction team, automatic steel processing equipment and intelligent systems were constructed to ensure zero sewage production and zero dust discharge.
It is a two-way tunnel, with six lanes, 17.45 m wide and has been built out of 2 million cubic meters of concrete. Colourful LED lights have been installed on the ceiling to reduce driver fatigue. The tunnel is a part of the 43.9 km China's Changzhou-Wuxi highway. The tunnel is actually 43.2 m long but has been divided into two bores, each 17.45 m long. Seepage-proofing the tunnel was one of the most significant engineering concerns, as the tunnel is 20 m deep into the lake bottom. Therefore, a real-time monitoring system has been constructed for concrete pouring, by the contractor. Several innovative techniques have been used up to closely monitor high-quality concrete.
To preserve the rich biodiversity of the lake, the contractor has installed a completely enclosed concrete mixing plant to reduce dust particles and noise pollution. They have utilised environment-friendly trucks and replaced diesel pile hammers with hydraulic pile hammers, which make less noise.
It will serve an alternative expressway for those travelling between Shanghai and Nanjing. The tunnel will connect various areas around the Yangtze River Delta region. The Yangtze is the longest river in China. Travelling time between Mashan and Nanquan, lakefront sub-districts of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, will also be reduced by half, and the journey from Wuxi’s urban centre area to Yixing will also become more comfortable. Wuxi is an important exporting center of rice, silk and textiles, and this connection will help the region thrive better economically. It has also emerged as a trading hub for electrical motors, software and solar technology parts in the last few years.