Millicent, the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) to be launched on Tideway, has installed her 2,729th concrete segment ring and completed her 5km journey to Carnwath Road in Fulham. 

Launched from Kirtling Street in November 2018, Millicent is the first TBM working on the super sewer to complete her section of the tunnel.

Over the past year, the 8.8m-diameter machine has removed approximately 709,540 tonnes of spoil – all of which was taken away from site by around 498 barges.

Along her subterranean route below the River Thames, Millicent passed three Tideway sites – Chelsea Embankment Foreshore, Cremorne Wharf Depot and Falconbrook Pumping Station – as well as famed London locations including the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Battersea Park. 

Ed Lewis, Project Manager for Kirtling Street said: "Five kilometres is a huge distance for a TBM of this size to cover within a year, so for Millicent to accomplish this is a great achievement for this project as we work towards cleaning the River Thames.

"Through great teamwork and collaboration we were able to achieve this milestone, but most importantly we were able to do so safely.

"We continue our great progress with Ursula who is still working away underneath the Thames and it’s important for us all to maintain this level of performance."

Each of the six TBMs working on Tideway have been named after influential women from history with links to the local area. Millicent was named after Dame Millicent Fawcett, a famed suffragist who campaigned for women to have the right to vote. 

Ursula, the eastbound TBM launched from Kirtling Street earlier this year, has completed almost 3km of her 7.5km journey towards Tideway's Chambers Wharf site in Bermondsey.