By james art 
Chesapeake Bay, VA – Expansion of the Bay Bay Tunnel Chesapeake Bay Bridge (CBBT) reached a milestone this week, with the boring boring machine “Chessie” breaking through the end of its tunnel.
The Chessie mining trip began in February 2023 to carve a mile, two -lane tunnel to allow the construction of a new road lane connecting the east coast of Virginia to the continent. According to CBBT officials, the new tunnel, known as the Thimble Shoal parallel tunnel, will wear two lanes of traffic to the south, while the existing tunnel will carry two lanes on northern traffic.
In May 2023, employees claimed that the strokes struck a large anchor on the ship during the tunnel project, which led to an eight -month delay to eliminate the obstacle. The yield resumed in May 2024 and is an average of 50 feet per day.
On January 27, Chesi sampled at the end of the mining route, reaching the receiving pit on two Islands of Thimble Shoal Channel.
“Today, it is a proud moment for the whole team participating in this project,” said CBBT Commission Chairman Fred Stan on Monday. “The parallel tunnel is a key component for increasing the safety and efficiency of this vital transport link and demonstrates the CBBT Commission’s commitment to refine the infrastructure and to guarantee the long -term resistance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.”
The tunnel boring machine, called the sixth grade 6th grade Grace Bentley of the Nandua Secondary School, was designed and built in Germany. With a 43-foot cutter and a total length of 308 feet, sheds on the side of about 500,000 cubic yards soil and mounts approximately 10,000 concrete segments.
It is currently expected to expand the Chesapik Bridge Bridge to end by the beginning of 2028. You can find a chassis video of chassis, reaching the end of the mining route here.