Workers working beside the "Mawan" shield tunneling machine

Builders inspecting pipeline operation

At the construction site, workers operate the "Mawan" shield tunneling machine for excavation

Planning diagram of the Mawan Cross-Sea Passage

Rendering of the Mawan Cross-Sea Passage

The 110-meter-long, approximately 2,500-ton "Pengcheng" shield tunneling machine being lowered into the shaft

New progress has been made in the construction of the Mawan Cross-Sea Passage. Thanks to the efforts of all construction personnel, the "Mawan" shield tunneling machine in the right-line shield section of the Mawan Passage has excavated past the important milestone of 1,900 meters. The 2,063-meter-long first undersea tunnel in Shenzhen is expected to be fully connected by the end of February.

The Mawan Cross-Sea Passage project starts at the intersection of Mawan Avenue and Yueliangwan Avenue in the Mawan Port Area of Qianhai, and connects with the Dachan Bay Toll Station of the Yanjiang Expressway and the intersection of Jinwan Avenue and Xixiang Avenue. With a total length of 8.05 kilometers, it is currently the largest-diameter undersea shield tunnel project under construction in China, and is divided into above-ground and underground road sections. The underground road is planned as an urban expressway with six lanes in both directions and a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The above-ground road is planned as an urban arterial road with six lanes in both directions and a design speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

The shield section of Section 1 (left line) of the Mawan Cross-Sea Passage project is 2,060 meters long and uses a "Pengcheng" shield tunneling machine tailor-made for the project. The machine is 110 meters long, and its cutterhead has a diameter of 15.55 meters, taller than a five-story building.

The shield section of Section 2 (right line) of the project is 2,063 meters long and uses the "Mawan" air-cushion slurry pressure balance shield tunneling machine. Independently designed and manufactured by China, the machine has a diameter of 15.53 meters, stands taller than a five-story building, and its main components are 140 meters long in total. The excavation cross-section of these two shield tunneling machines is six times that of conventional subway shields, and they are currently the largest-diameter shield tunneling machines used in underwater tunnel construction in China.

Once completed, the Mawan Cross-Sea Passage will not only effectively improve the external road network structure of Qianhai, the "special zone within the special zone," and link the port-related freight traffic of the Nanshan Port Area, but also connect passenger traffic between the Mawan and Chiwan areas and the Dachan Bay area. It will also separate passenger and freight traffic and transit traffic in the Qianhai area, further expand urban development space, and play a positive role in promoting transportation connectivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.