Russian contractor, Mostovik of Omsk has successfully brokenthrough on the 2.1km long Blue Stream Gas Pipeline tunnel project on the Black Sea Coast near Krasnodar. The contractor used a 2.7m diameter Lovat TBM equipped with a mixed face cutterhead to deal with the geology that ranged from 172MPa sandstone to 89MPa marl and 14MPa argillites. The best performance for a day was the erection of 23 x 1m long rings with a best week of 96 rings and a best month of 333 rings. The tunnel forms part of the $3bn, 770km long pipeline from Russia to Turkey. The machine is being prepared for a 986m tunnel on the Bezimyaniy project, also in Russia.
