TBM existing today is about 51 ft (15.43 m) for the construction of Chongming Tunnel, a 5.

6 mile (9-
kilometer) long tunnel under China’s Yangtze River, in Shanghai. See Figure 1-6 showing the
Chongming Tunnel. Note the scale of the machine relative to the people standing in the invert.

Figure 1-6 Chongming Tunnel under the Yangtze River

When larger and deeper tunnels are needed, either different type of construction methods, or multiple
tunnels are usually used. For example, if the ground is suitable, SEM (Chapter 9) in which the tunnel
cross section can be made to accommodate multiple lanes can be used. For tunnels below open water,
immersed tunnels can be used. For example, the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland
accommodated eight traffic lanes of I-95 into two parallel immersed units as shown in Figure 1-7.

Figure 1-7 Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, MD

Shallow tunnels would most likely be constructed using cut-and-cover techniques, discussed in Chapter 5.
In special circumstances where existing surface traffic cannot be disrupted, jacked precast tunnels are
sometimes used. In addition to the variety of tunneling methods discussed in this manual, non-

FHWA-NHI-09-010 1 - Planning
Road Tunnel Manual 1-7 March 2009