Tyne tunnel dredging completed – by David Foxwell
Work to dredge a trench for the second Tyne Tunnel in the northeast of the UK has been completed. The dredger ‘Vesalius’ was used to create a channel in the riverbed between East Howdon and Jarrow.
Thousands of tons of silt have been removed and used to partially fill in the now redundant Tyne Dock at South Shields.
Four pre-fabricated tunnel sections will shortly be floated on the river and will later be lowered into the trench. The second Tyne Tunnel is due to open in February 2011, when the existing tunnel will close for 10 months to allow modernisation work to be carried out.
