Following the launch of tunneling works earlier this year, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has completed the first phase of excavation of the Metro Blue Line. The RTA has more than doubled underground excavation speeds through the deployment of next-generation tunnel boring technology, marking a significant advance in the city’s transit infrastructure program.
Using Al Wugeisha, a 163-meter-long, 2,000-ton tunnel boring machine equipped with advanced digital guidance, monitoring, and automation systems, the machine can excavate approximately 30 meters per day, compared with about 12 meters per day during construction of Dubai’s original Metro network in 2007, reducing the first tunneling phase from roughly seven months to two months.
Unlike conventional excavation equipment, the machine functions as an integrated underground construction system, simultaneously excavating soil, removing spoil, and automatically installing tunnel lining segments to enable continuous, high-precision construction.
The RTA said the adoption of advanced digital engineering technologies is improving the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of underground construction while supporting the delivery of future-ready transportation infrastructure. The Blue Line is a key component of Dubai’s ongoing expansion of its rapid transit network, aimed at improving connectivity between the city’s growing residential and commercial districts. Transit infrastructure is an integral link in vertical urbanism development, and providing alternative modes of transportation as density grows.
Read more at Construction Week.