FACT SHEET I JANUARY 2006

Tunnel Boring Machine

About the equipment
The Tunnel Boring Machine at its full size is
approximately the length of a football eld. The
machine includes trailing gear such as supply tanks,
electrical support, exhaust fans and a conveyor belt.
The weight of the TBM and trailing gear is
approximately 642 tons.
A 21-foot in diameter cutterhead (the blue part) is
positioned at the front of the machine. Equipped with
various cutting tools, the cutterhead turns around
at the rate of 0.1 to 2.5 revolutions per minute.
Excavated material goes through openings in the face
of the machine.
The spoils are brought into the machine by a
corkscrew-like screw conveyor located behind the
cutter head. The spoils are then taken out the back on
a conveyor system to be temporarily stored on site and
then loaded into dump trucks.
Foam is usually added to condition the soil cuttings
into a paste in order for it to pass through the
conveyor for removal. Water, bentonite or polymers
may also be used, depending on the soil type,
groundwater and other factors. The conditioning
agents are bio-degradable.
The machine is propelled and steered with 16
hydraulic jacks that are located around the perimeter

The boring machine Obayashi is using to construct the light rail tunnel
through Beacon Hill.

of the machine. The operator steers the machine using

sophisticated positioning technology that is accurate
to within an inch.
The machine was manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries in Kobe, Japan and arrived in Seattle by
ship. It took 25 truck loads to deliver the boring
machine in pieces to the construction site.

Lining the tunnel with concrete

Tunnel liner segments made out of pre-cast concrete
are brought into the tunnel. The machine positions
each segment into place using an arm or erector,
creating a ring. Then cement grout is placed behind
the ring, forming the tunnels permanent liner.
continued on back

Sound Transit l Union Station l 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle WA 98104

(800) 201-4900 l (888) 713-6030 TTY l main@soundtransit.org l www.soundtransit.org

 The segments are manufactured in Tacoma

by Technopref Industries/Concrete Technology
Corporation. 10 inches thick, the segments include
rubber gaskets and are water-tight.
The TBM then uses the surface of the liner ring to
propel itself forward, by pushing against it.

The TBMs path

The TBM starts tunneling on the west side of the
tunnel, under Interstate 5.

The tunnel is just under one mile from the west

opening of the tunnel to the east end near McClellan
Street and 25th Avenue South.

The machine tunnels through Beacon Hill twice: Once

to construct the southbound tunnel, and then again
to construct the northbound tunnel. After the rst
tunnel is completed the machine will be disassembled
and taken back to the west portal to start the second
tunnel.
Beacon Hill Station is currently being constructed
from the top of the hill downward. The TBM will
enter the Beacon Hill Station and be pushed through
the stations previously excavated cavity. While the
TBM is in the station area, the contractor will perform
maintenance on it.