Glasgow's Shieldhall Tunnel project 50% complete

OFFICIALS behind the construction of Scotland's biggest ever wastewater tunnel have revealed that the multi million pound engineering project is halfway to completion.

The Shieldhall wastewater tunnel has passed the halfway stage. Picture: Contributed.

Glasgow’s £100 million Shieldhall Tunnel is being constructed by Scottish Water in a bid to lower contamination in the River Clyde and remove the threat of flooding.

Situated in the south of Glasgow, the project officially reached 50% completion this week when its 1,000 tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) passed underneath Pollok Park.

Construction on the tunnel began last July, with the project on schedule to be completed before Christmas.

Workers on the site have put in more than one million man hours. Picture: SNS Group.

Earlier this week, engineers on the site installed a full circle of giant concrete rings that form the runnel about 32ft (10m) under the east of Pollok Park at a point that is 1.55 miles (2.5km) along the route. More than 1,600 of these concrete rings have been completed so far.

Since the project began, over 150,000 tonnes of earth, stone, clay and other aggregates has been shifted, with site workers having put in more than one million man hours.

The complete section of the tunnel is already capable of holding the equivalent of 18 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Workers on the site have put in more than one million man hours. Picture: SNS Group.

Expressing his joy that the project had reached its halfway point, Scottish Water’s capital investment general manager, Paul Kerr said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone half-way stage in the tunnel construction.

“The Shieldhall Tunnel team includes some of the best and most experienced tunnellers in the world and they are making great progress with what is the biggest project of its type Scottish Water has ever undertaken.”

The team behind the Shieldhall Tunnel for Scottish Water, known as the Glasgow Tunnel Partnership, is a commercial joint venture between Costain and VINCI Construction Grands Projets called CVJV.

Costain and VINCI have been involved in some of the world’s major engineering projects, including the Channel Tunnel.