Good news comes from the first phase of Shijiazhuang Rail Transit Line 4: the cutterhead of the shield machine, a key tool for subway tunnel construction, has arrived on site, and underground construction is about to start at full speed.

Recently, at the construction site of Shitong Road Station, as the 320-ton crawler crane slowly started up, the shield machine cutterhead was successfully hoisted into place, marking another substantial progress in the first phase of Line 4 and laying a solid foundation for the shield launch at the end of September.

Shitong Road Station is located on the southeast side of the intersection of Shitong Road and Huiming Road, laid out along Huiming Road. It is an underground two-story island-type station with a total length of 198.8 meters and a standard section width of 19.7 meters. The station is constructed using the open-cut method. The cutterhead hoisting is a key step in the entire shield machine hoisting process; once the cutterhead is hoisted, the shield machine is basically in place. The cutterhead hoisted this time has an excavation diameter of 6.47 meters, and the main components of the shield machine, including the cutterhead, segment erector and screw conveyor, weigh a total of 316 tons. Next, the Municipal Rail Transit Group will strengthen organization and coordination, stay focused on the construction goals, and carry out follow-up work such as shield assembly and debugging efficiently and with high quality, making full preparations for the shield launch. On the basis of ensuring safety, environmental protection and civilized construction, it will unite efforts to advance the project.

Shitong Road Station drove its first pile on February 28, focusing on advancing the main structure construction, and has successively completed various preparatory works before shield construction to high standards, striving toward shield construction. At present, earthwork excavation at the station has reached 67,791 m³, accounting for 97.4% of the total; 7 sections of the bottom slab, 6 sections of the middle slab and 4 sections of the top slab have been completed cumulatively. After the shield machine arrived on site, Shitong Road Station successively completed the hoisting of 6 shield trailers, the connecting bridge, the screw conveyor, the shield body and the cutterhead. It will next enter the assembly and debugging stage of the first shield machine; after debugging is completed, excavation will begin on the tunnel section from Shitong Road Station to Yucun South Road Station.

This time, Shitong Road Station once again led the entire line, becoming the first station in the second phase of Shijiazhuang Rail Transit to complete shield equipment hoisting. To ensure the smooth implementation of this shield hoisting, the Municipal Rail Transit Group organized all participating parties to conduct in-depth on-site surveys, analysis and discussions and to prepare a hoisting plan, coordinating manpower, machinery and materials, safety measures and equipment support, and making meticulous arrangements, ultimately ensuring the successful completion of the shield machine hoisting task.

The first phase of Shijiazhuang Rail Transit Line 4 is about 22.43 kilometers long and has 20 stations in total. The line starts at Yucun South Road Station and ends at Dongyuan East Road Station, running along Huiming Road, Huifeng Road, Yuxiang Street, South Second Ring Road, Jianhua Street, Miande Road and Gaoying Street. Up to now, all 20 stations in the first phase of Line 4 have entered construction, with an entry rate of 100%. Fourteen stations, including Yucun South Road Station, Shitong Road Station and Sports Park Station, have entered the main structure construction stage, and it is planned that 85% of the stations on the entire line will enter the main structure construction stage before the end of the year.

Advancing progress with steady and rapid steps, and writing a new chapter with vigor and determination. The Municipal Rail Transit Group will continue to stay focused on its goals, press ahead with greater effort, reasonably arrange project planning, and earnestly ensure scientific, safe and civilized construction, setting off an upsurge of hard and fast work, fully promoting the high-quality and high-standard construction of Shijiazhuang Rail Transit, and contributing through concrete actions to building a modern, international and beautiful provincial capital city.