Saltley Viaduct tunnelling machine completes underground journey

United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, affordable housing, property services, and telecoms, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, United Living Infrastructure Services (ULIS) has completed the tunnelling stage of the Saltley Viaduct Gas Diversion project.

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), named by the project team as ‘Lorena’, meaning honour and victory, completed the 106m long, 1.5m diameter tunnel in November 2024. The tunnel goes from East to West beneath the Derby to Birmingham railway.

Delivered on behalf of Cadent by United Living Infrastructure Services (ULIS), and tunnelling subcontractor HB Tunnelling, the segmental shafts are 14m deep and up to 7.5m in diameter and have been installed in challenging wet ground conditions in a constrained site located between the River Rea and the Grand Union Canal.

The completed tunnel will be used to house a replacement gas pipeline to maintain essential gas supplies to the City of Birmingham and is needed to facilitate a large infrastructure scheme.

With the main tunnelling work completed, ULIS will now proceed with the gas pipe installation and connections to the existing gas network before proceeding to remove the redundant pipeline.

The spoil generated from the shaft excavations will be transported to a local materials management facility for repurposing, therefore limiting the associated carbon footprint and pressures on landfill.

ULIS secured the multi-million-pound contract with Cadent to deliver the gas pipeline diversion works and associated tunnel.  Work is ongoing and is scheduled to complete in April 2025.

Conor Bray, Managing Director, United Living Infrastructure Services, commented:

“The safe completion of tunnelling works on the Saltley Viaduct marks a significant milestone and displays the hard work and close collaboration of everyone working on the project.

“Working collaboratively with Cadent, we are now focusing on the next stages of construction and look forward to successfully delivering this vital piece of infrastructure with the highest level of safety and quality.”

Neil Bethell, Director of Capital Delivery, Cadent commented:

“This was and continues to be a challenging project from the start, with significant risks to be assessed and managed within very tight timescales. The successful construction of the tunnel is a fantastic achievement by all involved and was only made possible by all parties working closely together.”