The TBM that will drill the E6 Clean water tunnel Project in Oslo has arrived

The tunnel boring machine that will drill the tunnel for the new main water supply line arrived in Oslo last week. 

The machine is manufactured by Herrenknecht in Germany, and the largest and heaviest parts were transported in pieces by ship to Norway. At Ormsundkaia, these were loaded onto trailers and transported to the construction site at Stubberud.

The heaviest part is the TBM's main drive, weighing 123 tons. The transportation was carried out at night under police escort and supervision from the Public Roads Administration. 

Now, the machine will be assembled in a mountain hall before it begins the work of boring an 11-kilometer-long tunnel from Stubberud to Huseby. When fully assembled, the machine is 200 meters long, weighs around 2000 tons, and has a diameter of just over seven meters. 

The Oslo New Water Supply Project aims to provide the capital's residents with a reliable backup water supply Ghella and AF are carrying out a part of the project in a joint venture (JV) on behalf of the Oslo city government.

The AF Ghella JV is responsible for building the tunnel system for the distribution of drinking water from the water treatment plant at Huseby. Additionally, the contract includes the construction of four large rock caverns, two clean water basins, a pumping station, and a ventilation station. 

"Another milestone has been reached in this project thanks to the excellent efforts of many skilled employees. We are in full production mode and look forward to starting the TBM," says project manager Sigurd Ramnefjell.