A Herrenknecht SM2 Backhoe TBM has been delivered to site ready to start work immediately on Severn Trent Water’s £3.5M ($4.9M) sewer tunnel project in Leicester, UK.
Contractor DCT Civil Engineering will use the TBM, called Epic, to drive the 1.4km long, 1.5m diameter tunnel from a 13m deep shaft, already constructed. Progress rates of up to 15m in a 12 hour shift are forecast.
The scheme has been designed to prevent future pollution by storm water and sewage overflow into the Grand Union Canal that currently occurs during periods of heavy rainfall. The complete project which started in August is scheduled for completion in May 2001. At full capacity, the 1.4km long pipe will channel 2.5M litres of storm water a day into the sewer systems existing section for treatment.
