On the morning of December 29, with the powerful rotation of the cutterhead of the "Shen'an No. 2" shield machine, the huge cutterhead entered the steel sleeve, and the right line of the Huangdong section of the Shenzhen Metro Line 5 West Extension project was successfully completed.

The Shenzhen Metro Line 5 project (from behind Huangbeiling Station to Grand Theater section) is constructed by China Railway 14th Bureau Group. The entire line runs east-west along Shennan East Road, starting from Huangbeiling Station of the Phase I project of Line 5 and ending at Grand Theater Station, with a total length of 2.88 km. It has 3 stations and 3 sections, namely Dongmen Road Station, Jianshe Road Station, Grand Theater Station (including the turnaround line), and the section from the open-cut section behind Huangbeiling Station to Dongmen Road Station, the section from Dongmen Road Station to Jianshe Road Station, and the section from Jianshe Road Station to Grand Theater Station.

The project is located in the central commercial area of the city, with heavy pedestrian, vehicle and logistics flows. Concerns about "disturbing the public and being disturbed by the public" run throughout, making it a challenging project. The entire section passes beneath the city's main artery, Shennan Boulevard, with as many as 23 Level I and Level II risk sources. It passes beneath 4 bridges and 2 water bridges, crosses over and under 5 pedestrian crossings, and passes adjacent to 6 important structures. In particular, it must pass beneath the existing Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Bridge at a gradient of 29‰, with a structural overburden of only 8 m within the crossing range, akin to threading a needle through the cerebral cortex.

At the same time, the tunnel section has complex geology and low-lying terrain with sand layers below. It crosses long distances through completely and moderately weathered composite granite strata, imposing extremely high requirements for anti-floating, anti-collapse, anti-settlement and anti-leakage measures. With strong support and guidance from the owner, the project department optimized the plan, implemented it precisely, organized expert reviews, and formulated safe and efficient special measures. It adopted construction methods such as open-cut, covered top-down, shield tunneling, pipe jacking, shallow-buried excavation and pipe curtain to ensure smooth and safe construction. These methods were varied or combined according to construction needs, featuring diverse forms and distinctive characteristics, and have high value for application and promotion.

Since its launch on September 16, 2022, the "Shen'an No. 2" shield machine has successfully bored 750 meters. During tunneling, it successively completed crossings of 5 Level II risk sources, including passing over the existing Metro Line 2, passing under the 110 kV Huanglian line, crossing the anchor cable area of Luohu Business Center, passing under Exit A of Hubei Station, and passing under the Xiangxi Road pedestrian tunnel, safely and smoothly reaching Dongmen Road Station after 3 months.

In addition, the construction team organized multiple internal and external expert review meetings, invited shield tunneling experts for consultation, and carried out comprehensive inspection and maintenance of the receiving steel sleeve, shield machine and ancillary equipment to ensure reception conditions were met. Meanwhile, multiple technical briefings were conducted in advance for all on-site construction personnel to ensure they were proficient in the shield reception construction process and key points. A special emergency response team was also established, equipped with professional emergency personnel and supplies to meet emergency needs during construction. During construction, linkage between the shield machine and the surface was implemented, with monitoring of surface and station deformation twice a day to ensure the safe breakthrough of the shield machine.

The right line of the Huangdong section is the first tunnel section completed in the Shenzhen Metro Line 5 West Extension project, marking a major breakthrough in the project and laying a solid foundation for the completion of the entire line.