The 1,000th barge removing excavated tunnel material from Tideway's Kirtling Street has departed the site in Battersea. 

Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Millicent and Ursula, were launched from the bottom of the shaft at Kirtling Street to dig the central section of the new super sewer. Each time one of the TBM advances, it produces approximately 265 tonnes of material from the tunnels. 

The two TBMs have excavated over 1.4m tonnes of tunnel spoil in total, all of which has been transported from site by barge as part of Tideway's 'More by River' strategy, removing the need for approximately 74,000 on-road vehicle movements. 

Millicent, the westbound machine, finished her 5km drive in November 2019 and TBM Ursula has travelled approximately 4.6km so far on her eastbound journey deep below the River Thames. 

The spoil from Kirtling Street's tunnels is taken along the river to Ingrebourne Valley’s Tilbury Ash Disposal site and Rainham for beneficial reuse.