On June 5, 2023, the right tube open-cut section of the main-line tunnel in Work Zone 1 of the Yantai Urban Expressway Tashan North Road (West Exit of Huangjinding Tunnel – Shanhai Road) Construction Project, undertaken by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau and the Urban Construction Company of China Construction Railway Investment Group, achieved the first successful blasting along the entire line, making it the first work site on the whole line to successfully open up a main-line tunnel working face and marking the official start of tunnel construction for the project.

It is reported that the Yantai Urban Expressway Tashan North Road (West Exit of Huangjinding Tunnel – Shanhai Road) Construction Project is located in Zhifu District, Yantai City, Shandong Province, starting from west of the Huangjinding Tunnel in the west and ending at Shanhai Road in the east, with the main line situated south of the Huangjinding Tunnel. The project route has a total length of 7.592 km, including a 315 m subgrade section at the starting point, a 5,248 m double-tube main-line tunnel, and a 1,977 m double-lane ramp. The geology within the construction scope is mainly moderately weathered schist and granite, and the alignment follows a V-shaped grade.

Project Manager Hu Naiguang introduced that tunnel portal excavation faced difficulties such as a tight schedule and high risks. Based on the tunnel's characteristics, the project adopted large pipe roofs for advance support, wet-spraying robotic arms for primary support, and intelligent secondary lining trolleys for integral casting of the secondary lining to ensure construction quality. Tunnel blasting uses hole-by-hole initiation technology, which can effectively control blasting vibration, noise, flying rocks, etc., with a small amount of secondary blasting, facilitating subsequent tunnel excavation. Tunnel excavation will adopt three methods in stages—the CD method, the bench method, and the double-side-drift method—making every effort to complete all preparatory work for tunnel construction and fully implement standardized tunnel construction.

A relevant project official introduced that the Yantai Urban Expressway Tashan North Road (West Exit of Huangjinding Tunnel – Shanhai Road) Construction Project, as the eastern section of the "one horizontal" in Yantai City's "one horizontal and two vertical" road network plan, is a major project of the Yantai Municipal Government to implement the "1+233" work system and build the "12335" urban development pattern. Once completed, the project will strengthen integration and communication among the four districts of the Development Zone, Fushan District, Zhifu District, and Laishan District, promote Yantai's economic development, and lay an important foundation for the layout and construction of Yantai's expressway network.

"The west portal of the project has overcome numerous difficulties to successfully break ground, providing a solid guarantee for subsequent quality performance," said Hu Naiguang. Next, the west portal will give full play to its advantage of being the first to break ground, carry out construction in an all-round way, and safeguard the target milestone of main-line tunnel breakthrough.