The new underground extension into the Europaviertel is increasingly taking shape. Excavation work for the launch pit is currently underway on the construction site in Europa-Allee in the eastern area, and in the western area the areas are being prepared so that the individual parts of the gigantic tunnel boring machine can be delivered. During the night from Monday, March 18, to Tuesday, March 19, a heavy transporter will deliver the segments for the cutting wheel of the tunnel boring machine. The cutting wheel will be disassembled for transport and welded back together on site.
The individual components will not be unloaded until early morning. During the course of the day, also by heavy transporter, the central element, the main drive of the tunnel boring machine, will be brought to the construction site. On Wednesday morning, the individual parts of the shield tail will follow. After that, the welding and assembly work will begin so that the cutting wheel and the shield tail will soon be recognizable as such. In the course of the following weeks, the other parts of the 580-tonne machine will be delivered and successively prepared for lifting into the launch pit.
In total, the more than 80-metre-long tunnel boring machine consists of around 150,000 individual parts, which will be assembled by around six to ten people per shift. The lifting in of the cutting wheel and the individual components of the machine will be spectacular. This is expected to take place in May of this year. The actual tunnel boring work is scheduled for late summer.
The Frankfurt tunnel boring machine from Herrenknecht is drilling two tunnel tubes that will extend the U5 line westward beyond the main station. The total of four stations - one underground and three above ground - will provide the district with an efficient connection to the city's public transport network. The deepest point of the future tunnel is 22 meters below the surface.
