The Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel designed by SIYUAN is located between the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and Nanjing Yangtze River No.3 Bridge. It’s designed as a double-way 6-lane city express way with running speed of up to 80km/h. The total length of both the left line and the right line of the shield tunnel crossing Yangtze River is 6,042m. It’s open to traffic on May, 28, 2010.

The Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel is characterized as “l(fā)arge, deep, and risky”: the shield machinery applied is of ultra-large diameter, with excavation diameter of up to 14.96m, which is one of the largest slurry shield tunneling machines across the world; the deepest part of the tunnel reaches 65m under the Yangtze River, hitting a new high for river crossing tunnels in the world; and the water and earth pressure during construction is up to 6.5 kg/ square cm.

In comparison with other river crossing tunnels, the Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel is of higher degree of difficulties, as well as higher proportion of independent innovation. Since its construction commencement in March, 2005, almost every stage of tunneling construction was accompanied with technical tackling of world-level difficulties. More than 30 special demonstrations have been completed and 15 patents have been applied, where the ultra large duct piece lining structure prototype test has been listed as a demonstration research topic for the “March, 1986” (National High-tech Research Development) Plan.

The opening to traffic of Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel marks the ultimate victory of the river crossing tunnel with the most difficult engineering technologies, the most complicated geological conditions and the most risky challenges in the Yangtze River basin, as well as a new high of the tunnel construction technology with shield machine of ultra large diameter in China.