On June 11, the first component of the "Shanhe" shield tunneling machine for the Huanggang Road Yellow River Crossing Tunnel project in Jinan began hoisting and lowering into the shaft, laying the foundation for achieving the major milestone of the shield machine's launch and tunneling.

Tailored to the project's geological conditions, the "Shanhe" is the world's largest-diameter slurry balance shield machine under construction, with a maximum excavation diameter of 17.5 meters, a total length of 163 meters, a weight of 5,200 tons, and a total installed power of 12,580 kilowatts. It mainly consists of the cutterhead, 12 shield body sections, the main drive, the erector, the bridge frame, four rear supporting gantry cars, and ancillary components, with its overall assembly reaching world-advanced levels.

The No. 1 gantry car hoisted and lowered into the shaft this time is the largest and most critical section among the rear supporting gantry cars of the "Shanhe" shield machine, weighing 510 tons and about 30 m long. It is designed as a three-story frame structure carrying the main equipment for shield tunneling, equipped with the shield machine's operator cabin, power supply facilities, slurry circulation system components, hydraulic pump station components, and simultaneous dual-fluid grouting system components. Considering its enormous size and weight, it was divided into three sections and hoisted into the shaft in the order of rear, middle, and front by an 800t crawler crane from the end of the launch shaft, and assembled at designated positions underground.

On-site hoisting operation safety management strictly implements the "ten no-lift" principle for hoisting operations. Before hoisting, strict acceptance checks are carried out on operating conditions such as hoisting personnel, machinery, warning and protection of the work area, and rigging in accordance with the construction plan requirements, ensuring there are no safety hazards before hoisting operations may proceed. The project department also assigned dedicated hoisting supervision duty personnel to inspect and accept each lift. To ensure the safe and orderly completion of the "Shanhe" hoisting and lowering work, the contractor organized multiple technical exchange meetings and shield machine hoisting safety hazard identification and review meetings, and conducted detailed safety training and technical briefings for management personnel at all levels and frontline construction workers.

Aiming at the goal of launching the shield machine within the year, the contractor coordinated planning, integrated resources, and optimized allocation, simultaneously carrying out disassembly and transport, hoisting and lowering into the shaft, construction of shield machine supporting facilities, and precast production of box culverts, placing extremely high demands on on-site organization, management, and coordination capabilities. Under the premise of ensuring safety and quality, the construction progress of each work face is strictly controlled. The construction organization plan and emergency response plans have been continuously improved, with 35 technical and safety management personnel and more than 200 construction workers deployed; one 300-ton, one 400-ton, and one 800-ton crawler crane each are equipped to ensure the steady progress of all work to the greatest extent.

The Huanggang Road Yellow River Crossing Tunnel project in Jinan is one of the major north-south corridors across the Yellow River. Once completed, it will help achieve interconnection between Jinan's main urban area and the Starting Area for the Conversion of Old and New Growth Drivers, strongly accelerate the comprehensive construction of the Starting Area, promote Jinan's transition from the "Daming Lake Era" to the "Yellow River Era," and provide strong support for ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.