A range of machinery and equipment used to create the secondary lining on the central section of the super sewer project is set to be reused on the eastern 5.5km of the tunnel.

With the primary tunnel now complete for the full 25km of the super sewer, Tideway is making good progress on the secondary lining. 

Unlike primary lining, which is comprised of precast concrete segments, the concrete for the secondary lining is poured wet in-situ, and is needed to give the tunnel extra strength and to create a smooth surface over which the flows can travel once the tunnel is operational in 2025. 

Secondary lining was completed in the central section in May, and the tunnelling team at Kirtling Street in Nine Elms has been busy demobilising shutters, gantries and other associated equipment ahead of shipment to Chambers Wharf in Bermondsey.

Some of the equipment, including two 40-tonne gantries, is being transported more than 7km down river using barges on the Thames instead of lorries on the road.

This represents another example of the circular economy on the Tideway project, maximising the use of plant and material, reducing costs and the carbon footprint of the super sewer.