The $2.8BN Megaproject Dividing London

if you've ever been to London then you'll know that the river temps divides this city into north to south and many people here have to cross the river every day to get to and from work and move about the problem is that as London's population has grown so to has congestion at those Crossings and as that's happened our rush hours have become ever more hellish but help is now at hand because the city is building its first new road tunnel under the east of the river in more than 30 years it's an incredible of engineering that's passing more or less underneath my feet right now although many activists disagree it's hoped that the new silver Town tunnel will reduce the amount of time that cars spend idling and polluting the air and create another option for those trying to cross the river but building a new tunnel in London and especially under this part of the river that is very wide is anything but easy so I've come out to the picturesque doctrin to see how it's being done morning in London's notorious Rush Hour thousands of people trying to drive across the river are funnel through one of these few Crossings like the black wall tunnel with its narrow design the tunnels become increasingly plagued by delays pollution en closures and as for public transport well it's only large enough for a single deck of bus to go through commuters often find themselves stuck with longer Journey times or being forced to take lengthy routes around to get to where they want go and in the event of a closure there's really no other way to get across the next closest tunnel is over 3 km away now London Prides itself on its public transports and has worked hard in recent years to discourage car use but the tube isn't that helpful if you have no choice but to drive especially when crossing the river in the East and so the silver Town tunnel was born a $2.8 billion US new Crossing to relieve the congestion in Black Wall the 1.4 km route will connect grenage to Silver Town under the river and could reduce travel times by 20 minutes construction started back in 2021 and is on schedule to be completed by 2025 there'll be two parallel tunnels about 1 km in length with two lanes of traffic each in both tunnels one of those Lanes is going to be designed to carry larger Vehicles like the famous double-decker buses coaches and heavy Goods trucks and while the Town tunnel won't be open to pedestrians or cyclists landscape design around the entrances is going to include walking routes new buildings that house operations and foot Bridges now as our regular viewers will know adding new infrastructure into a live city comes with its challenges here's how London is pulling it off to carve a fresh route under the river workers are calling in the heavy weights enter Jill an 82 M 1,800 ton Beast of a tunnel a boring machine that's the biggest of its kind ever used in the UK poignantly she's named after London's first female bus driver Jill's first B went along this route from newm to Greenwich using a rotating head the machine pushed and cut through the Earth at a r through about 18 M A Day creating a wide chamber behind it leftover materials were carried out of the tunnels on a conveyor belt system then taken away from the site on barges as for Excavating the small sections around the entrances to the tunnel itself workers used a technique called the cutand cover method which is typically reserved for shallow digs excavation began at the Surface by cutting a trench into the soil once complete The Dugout area is covered with the tunnels walls and a roof for support and the remaining area above it is back filled and resurfaced now before we dig into the details it's important to recognize that designing a tunnel like this takes a depth of stem Knowledge from engineers and con construction workers but if you're in the dark about these subjects then there is light at the end of the tunnel here's a new way to learn that's fun easy and free to start getting the dirt on maths and physics are necessary for any civil engineer this week's video sponsor Brilliance has courses that easily break down complex Concepts into Quick lessons that are simple to follow and will get you above ground in no time it's a great way to visualize problems and solutions like understanding formulas for hydraulic systems Brilliance has thousands of lessons which help to break down complicated subjects ranging from the fundamentals like calculus to something like data analysis which could help you level up your career to get started you can try a free 30-day offer by visiting brilliant.org theeb 1M or by clicking the link in the description the first 200 people to sign up will receive a 20% discount off their annual subscription now let's get back to the video if you remember the Silvertown tunnel is being formed of two different tunnels sections tunnels with twin BS like this typically employ two tbms or dismantle one and then return it to the initial launch point to start the next dig but that takes time and money instead workers here simply rotated the entire Boring Machine 180° so it could just drill back the other way and create the secondary tube something that's never been done before with a machine this big to pull it off Engineers first designed a large chamber to provide space for the reversal section by section the tunnel boring machine was then placed on 12 nitrogen skates a set of specialized devices consisting of a hydraulic cylinder and an inflatable cushion by pushing in compressed nitrogen into the bottom of each skat a pillow of air was created beneath the machine and the bottom of the shaft at this point the machine was essentially floating it was then fully rotated in two turns without rubbing against the walls after all the pieces were reversed the machine went on to complete the second bore now that both tunnels are fully excavated Road surfacing and Landscaping work is being prepared on either side of the river around the tunnel entrances but don't be fooled into thinking things are easier above ground in such a congested part of London the team are facing almost every hurdle you can imagine London's cable car passes directly over the middle of the sil Town Tunnel construction site and from up here you get a pretty awesome view not just of all the cool construction works happening but also the constraints that this team are facing you know you've got that live DLR Railway passing directly through the middle of the site there's a live roadway there's the river there surrounding neighborhoods you got the cable car going over there's the London City Airport flight path there's so much happening around them to build this feet of engineering here in this location is seriously tough going I have to say if you're in London the next couple of years come on the cable carart it's a good way to see the city but also a really good way to get an aerial view of one of its coolest infrastructure projects as if one of the world's most challenging u-turns and a busy City environment weren't enough the silver Town tunnel has also faced backlash from environmental activists who've raised concerns about the additional traffic and Emissions the tunnel could bring many have demanded that the tunnel welcome pedestrians and cyclists alongside the cars after all London set a goal to become Net Zero by 20130 but officials argue that the additional tunnel is going to open up an alternative route for drivers and therefore reduce the number of idling cars in and around black wall some aren't too happy with the introduction of tolls for the use of silver Town either especially as the black wall tunnel is currently free UK drivers already pay an annual Road tax some parts of Central London have a congestion charge and much older vehicles have to pay a fee to enter London's recently expanded ultra low emissions or UL Zone City Hall says that all of these measures help to improve air quality for londoners manage traffic and reduce the city's carbon footprint the Silvertown tunnel is Testament to the power that infrastructure has to connect our worlds and get our cities moving but it's also yet another example of how challenging it can be for construction teams to add new infrastructure systems into historic and congested capitals and the tensions that can come with expanding roadways in an age where enabling more sustainable forms of transports feels more instinctive for whatever the debates and challenges you can't deny that the feat of construction is or inspiring this video was sponsored by brilliant you can learn more about that at the link below you can learn more about the Silvertown tunnel and other topics on our Channel over on the world's best construction podcast available right now wherever you get your podcasts and as always guys if you enjoyed this video and you want to get more from the definitive video channel for construction from the channel that takes you Into the Heart of London's breathtakingly beautiful dockin hit that subscribe [Music] button

Channel: The B1M

Views: 792,357

Keywords: B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, The B1M, Fred Mills, building, london, england, tmb, silvertown tunnel, blackwall tunnel, tunnel, tunnel boring machine, greenwich, silvertown, uk, united kingdom, transport for london, tfl

Id: iTbIPNDy7wI

Length: 9min 20sec (560 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 06 2024