THE IMPORTANCE AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES OF TUNNEL AND ISLANDS FOR HONG KONG ZHUHAI MACAO BRIDGE PROJECT

The construction of the HZMB Tunnel and islands was commenced late in 2010 as a part of more than 50 km Link between Hong Kong, Macao and the Mainland China. With a length of approximately 6 km, the immersed tunnel will become the worlds' longest. To accommodate the passing of 300.000 tons vessels, the tunnel will be approx 40 m below sea level, being one of the deepest in the world. The transition from a link bridge to the tunnel will be realized by two offshore artificial islands. When also taking into account the varying and relative poor soil conditions, the large spans, the offshore conditions for construction and the complex connection to two artificial islands (reclaimed in poor soil conditions), the HZMB Link can be considered as one of the most challenging projects worldwide. The paper will introduce the general information of HZMB project with the attention of the most important and difficult part of tunnel and islands, focus on the integral design issues relating to the tunnel and artificial islands, and includes Tunnel structural design, tunnel foundation design, transport and immersion principles, tunnel installations / tunnel safety, durability,and the like.