On May 9, the "Zhijiang," a domestically made 15-meter-class ultra-large-diameter slurry shield tunneling machine for the Hangzhou Zhijiang Road upgrade project, successfully rolled off the production line at Zhejiang China Railway Engineering Equipment Co., Ltd. It is the first 15-meter-class ultra-large-diameter slurry shield machine manufactured in Zhejiang, and another major achievement of the province's high-end equipment sector.

The "Zhijiang" shield machine that rolled off the line has an excavation diameter of more than 15 meters, a length of about 120 meters and a weight of 4,300 tons. It will be used for the tunnel project of the Zhijiang Road water conveyance pipe gallery and road upgrade project (from Zhipu Road to Fuxing Road), currently the largest-diameter long-distance shield tunnel project under construction in Hangzhou. The tunnel is close to the Qiantang River, the Shanhusha Reservoir and the Zhijiang Campus of Zhejiang University, and passes through complex geological sections including moderately weathered argillaceous siltstone, mucky silty clay and moderately weathered quartz sandstone.

The "Zhijiang" will be handed over to Tengda Construction Group Co., Ltd. for the Hangzhou Zhijiang Road water conveyance pipe gallery and road upgrade project, which is located in the core section of Hangzhou's main urban area along the north bank of the Qiantang River. Upon completion, the project will replace the existing six-lane surface road with a four-lane elevated road plus a four-lane underground road. It is of great significance for enhancing Hangzhou's urban competitiveness, building a three-dimensional transportation and water network along the river, improving the riverside ecological and landscape environment, further improving residents' living conditions and safeguarding people's livelihood.