Boring Empire

The Evolution Of Tunnel Boring Machines

Brian Potter | Construction Physics | 6th October 2023

Comprehensive history of how humans have dug tunnels beneath the ground in the past 150 years. In 1825 Marc Brunel, father of Isambard Kingdom, used a 22-foot "shield" with stacked compartments containing individual workers to dig the first tunnel beneath the river Thames. Now we use a combination of enormous tunnel boring machines and intricate pre-cast concrete liners (4,860 words)


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