Lewes

Carillion was responsible for the creation of a specialist 1.1km tunnel, which acts as a storage tank in Lewes, East Sussex.

The 1,200mm internal diameter tunnel was created using pipejacking techniques and two concurrent drives; one on a challenging curve between existing reinforced concrete piles with only 200mm clearance on either side, the other passing beneath the Lewes and Brighton railway lines.

The shaft locations were adjacent to residential areas, and the project was further complicated by the layout of the town, which made the movement of equipment and materials very difficult.

All pipejacking was carried out on a single shift basis, with an extended shift used only while passing beneath the railway lines (30m).