At 10:00 a.m. on February 23, amid a tremendous roar, the "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine of the Third Bid Section Project Department of Jinan Rail Transit Line R3 successfully emerged at the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center, marking the successful completion of the left line of the shield tunnel section from Ligeng Road Station to the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center on Jinan Rail Transit Line R3, constructed by China Railway No. 4 Engineering Group. This laid a solid foundation for the dual-line breakthrough of the section from Ligeng Road Station to the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center by the end of March and provided valuable space and time for the steady progress of subsequent construction. At the same time, it also marked that the "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine had successfully completed the tunneling task assigned by the Rail Transit Group and China Railway No. 4 Engineering Group, and would soon be transferred from the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center to the CBD area to begin a new journey.
　　The "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine has a total length of 85 meters, weighs 545 tons, and has an excavation diameter of 6.68 meters. It is mainly responsible for the shield construction of the left lines of two sections: from Dingjiadong Station to Ligeng Road Station and from Ligeng Road Station to the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center. The left line of the shield tunnel section from Ligeng Road Station to the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center, which was completed this time, starts at mileage XK5+232.560~XK5+754.023 and has a total length of 521.463 m. The left line of the Ding-Li section tunnel, which was completed on October 28, has a total length of 835.029 m. Both left-line sections are standard single-tube single-track circular cross-sections, with a line spacing of 17 m and a crown burial depth of about 9.18–11.97 m.
　　On the morning of December 19, 2017, the "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine was launched for the second time at Ligeng Road Station of the Third Bid Section of Jinan Rail Transit Line R3 of China Railway No. 4 Engineering Group. After 65 days and nights of uninterrupted tunneling, it passed through complex strata composed of conglomerate, gravel layers, gravel-bearing silty clay, moderately weathered limestone, and marl, and successfully reached the receiving portal at the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center, marking the successful completion of the left line of the shield tunnel section from Ligeng Road Station to the West Station of the Olympic Sports Center on Jinan Rail Transit Line R3, constructed by China Railway No. 4 Engineering Group. This is another "honor" achieved by the "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine after it became the first on the entire line to be launched on May 18, 2017; completed receiving on October 28, 45 days ahead of the owner's plan; and successfully completed the first second launch on the entire line on December 19, 13 days ahead of the node set by the owner.
　　The successful launch and reception of the "Pioneer No. 1" shield machine on the entire line, as well as the second launch and reception on the entire line, would have been impossible without the unremitting efforts of all participating personnel. Under the leadership of the team headed by Project Manager Peng Xinmin and Project Secretary Wang Wenju, all project participants overcame the adverse effects of a tight schedule, difficulties in muck transport, tight raw material supply, and high difficulty of winter construction. They took the initiative, continuously set off an upsurge of vigorous work, and continuously improved on-site management and the standardization level of construction procedures. They strengthened the use of methods such as "leadership shifts" for high-risk procedures, informatized construction, remote video monitoring, and BIM simulation analysis. They strictly implemented the requirements of "three preventions" in summer and "five preventions" in winter, fully leveraged the safety supervision role of "mass safety supervisors" and "youth safety supervision posts," and ensured that the entire shield construction process was safe and controllable. They persisted in combining "going out" with "bringing in," actively invited experts from inside and outside the bureau to "consult" on key construction links, visited sister units for observation and experience, and, in light of the characteristics of metro construction in the Jinan area, optimized the shield machine's attitude and parameters to overcome difficulties such as segment floating, complex strata, hard cross-sections, and "open-chamber cutter replacement under pressure." During the Spring Festival, key leaders took shifts on site, ensuring the safe and rapid progress of construction and production.