January 2021, Vol. 248, No. 1
Features
Gas Pipeline Running Under River Humber Enters Record Book
P&GJ Staff Report
A ground-breaking project to lay a gas pipeline beneath the River Humber in the English coastal village of Goxhill has entered the Guinness Book of World Records.
The National Grid project is expected to carry a quarter of Britain’s gas beneath the Humber in coming winter months.
The 7,150-ton (6,486-ton), 3.1-mile (5-km) pipe from Goxhill on the south bank to Paull on the north bank is claimed to be the world’s longest hydraulically inserted pipeline. The tunnel is designed to last for 120 years, while the pipe will last 40 years.
“Delivering a project, which is of such importance for the gas transmission network, is a super achievement, especially when the project has such a good safety record of no lost time injuries in more than 500 days of working. Therefore, to achieve a world record is the ‘icing on the cake,’” Emma Ford, head of Gas Construction for National Grid, told the Grimsby Telegraph.
Work boring the tunnel below the river began in September 2019, using a 562- ton (510-tonne), 525-foot (160-meter) machine. The pipeline has been verified by Guinness World Records, which certified the result during a virtual event. The specially built burrowing machine was christened Mary after pioneering engineer Mary Fergusson.
The second stage of the project involved flooding the tunnel with treated water before pushing the pipe through in July.
“The combination of the partners’ expertise in the diverse fields of tunneling, civil and pipeline forms the basis of a team that could work together to deliver such a crucial infrastructure project,” said George Zondagh, project director for the construction JV of Porr, Skanska and A.Hak.
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