On August 11, the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport West Tunnel project achieved important progress: the cutterhead of the 14.3-meter extra-large-diameter shield machine "Qihang" was successfully lowered into the shaft, making this section the first on the entire line to complete this procedure.

It is reported that the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport West Tunnel project is 3,286.05 meters long, including a 2,675.05-meter shield-driven section. It requires a long-distance crossing of silty sand layers, mucky clay layers, silty soil layers, and mucky silty clay interbedded with silty soil layers, and must pass alongside multiple buildings including the airport customs office, the China Eastern Airlines office building, the airport public security bureau office building, and the airport customs office building, while passing beneath Hangzhou Metro Line 7, No. 10 Road Bridge, Airport Tunnel No. 3, the airport No. 14 utility tunnel, and elevated bridges. Overall, the construction is highly difficult and carries high safety risks. The shield machine lowered in this operation has a diameter of 14.3 meters and a total length of about 130 meters, and its cutterhead weighs about 280 tons. The cutterhead hoisting is characterized by its heavy dead weight, large rotation amplitude, confined site, and high operational difficulty, making it the most difficult and highest-risk procedure in the hoisting process.

To ensure the smooth lowering of the shield cutterhead, the Third Work Zone of the project team planned ahead and organized meticulously, conducting multiple special studies and detailed discussions on the shield machine assembly plan, trial hoisting plan, and cutterhead flipping, among other matters. They also carried out meticulous safety education and technical briefings for construction personnel on multiple occasions to ensure welding precision, hoisting safety, smooth assembly, and the steady progress of all work. After the shield cutterhead is lowered into the shaft, construction work will proceed with forward movement of the shield body, lowering of the shield tail segment erector, connection of pipelines, synchronous commissioning, and installation of the negative ring, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent shield launch.

As Zhejiang Province's first high-speed railway project to pass beneath the Qiantang River and the airport in tunnel form, the completion of the Hangzhou Airport High-Speed Railway project will make travel more convenient and faster for people in the Yangtze River Delta region and help promote integrated regional economic development.