Ahead of the full-scale start of the excavation of a tunnel deep underground in a major city as part of the construction of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen, the site in Kawasaki City was opened to the press.
In the construction of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen between Shinagawa and Nagoya, tunnels are scheduled to be dug underground at a depth of more than 40 meters from the surface of the earth, called "deep underground" in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Aichi, and JR Central has been excavating since March 2023 with the main purpose of surveying.
At the Higashi-Yurioka Construction Area in Kawasaki City, where the excavation of the survey was completed, it was said that there was no impact on the surrounding area, and full-scale excavation will begin in September, and the site was opened to the press before that.
It was opened to the public at a depth of about 3 meters from the surface, and the walls of the 9-meter-long space excavated in the survey were combined with pieces of concrete to form a tunnel wall.
In addition, an excavator called a "shield machine" with a diameter of 80 meters is installed at the tip of the space, and according to JR Central, when full-scale excavation begins, it is planned to dig an average of about 133 meters per day.
Hiroyuki Onoguchi, general manager of JR Central, said, "We would like to proceed with the construction safely while continuing to make efforts to gain the understanding of the local people."
Regarding the Linear Chuo Shinkansen, Shizuoka Prefecture has not approved the start of construction in the prefecture due to concerns that tunnel construction using a different construction method will reduce the amount of water in the river and adversely affect the ecosystem, and there is still no prospect of an opening date.