How the world's longest underwater tunnel was built - Alex Gendler

翻译人员: Xiaoli JIANG 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Flanked by two powerful European nations, the English Channel

英吉利海峡位于 欧洲两大强国之间，

has long been one of the world’s most important maritime passages.

一直是世界的航运要道之一。

Yet for most of its history,

然而，在它大部分的历史中，

the channel’s rocky shores and stormy weather

因两岸陡峭、天气恶劣，

made crossing a dangerous prospect.

使穿越海峡极具危险性。

Engineers of the early 1800's proposed numerous plans

19 世纪初期的工程师 设计了无数方案

for spanning the 33 kilometer gap.

试图连接起这 33 公里的裂口。

Their designs included artificial islands linked by bridges,

他们的设计 包括用人工岛衔接桥梁，

submerged tubes suspended from floating platforms,

用浸在水中的管道来悬挂漂浮平台，

and an underwater passage more than twice the length of any existing tunnel.

以及建造一条长度超过 任何已有隧道两倍的海底通道。

By the end of the century,

在十九世纪末，

this last proposal had captured European imagination.

最后这个方案成了欧洲人的遐想。

The invention of the tunnel boring machine

隧道掘进机的发明，

and the discovery of a stable layer of chalk marl below the seabed

以及在海床底下 发现稳定的白垩岩层，

made this fantastic tunnel more feasible.

让这个奇想中的隧道更有可能实现。

But the project’s most urgent obstacles were ones no engineer could solve.

然而，这个计划最迫切的障碍， 却没有一个工程师能够解决。

At the time,

当时的英国人

Britons viewed their geographic isolation as a strategic advantage,

认为地理的隔离是他们的战略优势，

and fears about French invasion shut down plans for the tunnel.

他们惧怕法国会入侵， 因而停止了隧道的计划。

The rise of aerial warfare rendered these worries obsolete,

空战出现后，这种担忧不复存在，

but new economic concerns arose to replace them.

取而代之的是经济上的顾虑。

Finally, 100 years after the initial excavation,

直到初次动工的 100 年之后，

the two countries reached an agreement—

两国才达成协议——

the tunnel would proceed with private funding.

即，隧道建设由私人资金承担。

In 1985, a group of French and British companies

1985 年，一些法国和英国的公司

invested the modern equivalent of 14 billion pounds,

投资了相当于现在的 140 亿英镑，

making the tunnel the most expensive infrastructure project to date.

使这个项目成为了当时 最昂贵的基建项目。

The design called for three separate tunnels—

方案包含三条独立隧道，

one for trains to France, one for trains to England,

一条供列车驶向法国， 一条供列车驶向英国，

and one service tunnel between them.

中间还有一条辅助隧道。

Alongside crossover chambers, emergency passages, and air ducts,

再加上连接通道、 紧急疏散通道和通风管道，

this amounted to over 200 kilometers of tunnels.

整个隧道的长度 加起来超过 200 公里。

In 1988, workers began excavating from both sides,

1988 年，工人们从两端开凿隧道，

planning to meet in the middle.

计划在中间相遇。

Early surveys of the French coast revealed the site was full of fault lines.

在法国海岸的前期探测显示 这片区域充满了断层线，

These small cracks let water seep into the rock,

水会通过这些缝隙渗入到岩石中，

so engineers had to develop waterproof boring machines.

工程师们不得不 开发了防水隧道掘进机。

The British anticipated drier conditions, and forged ahead with regular borers.

英国那边的岩石被认为更干燥， 所以采用的是普通隧道掘进机。

But only months into the work, water flooded in through undetected fissures.

然而开工不过数月， 水就从不明裂隙中涌入。

To drill in this wet chalk, the British had to use grout

为了在潮湿的白垩岩中继续钻洞， 英国人不得不在隧道掘进机作业后

to seal the cracks created in the borer’s wake,

注浆以封闭可能的渗水，

and even work ahead of the main borer

有时甚至要在隧道掘进主机到达前，

to reinforce the chalk about to be drilled.

预先固结掘进前方的白垩。

With these obstacles behind them, both teams began drilling at full speed.

这些问题解决后，双方全速开工。

Boring machines weighing up to 1,300 tons drilled at nearly 3.5 meters per hour.

自重可达 1300 吨的隧道掘进机， 每小时能向前推进约 3.5 米，

As they dug, they installed lining rings to stabilize the tunnel behind them,

隧道掘进机向前掘进的同时 会在已挖掘的隧道中安装衬砌环，

making way for support wagons following each machine.

为隧道掘进机后部的配套台车开路。

Even at top speed, work had to proceed carefully.

即便全速前进，工作也必须细致。

The chalk layer followed a winding path between unstable rock and clay,

白垩地层位于不稳定的 岩石和黏土之间，蜿蜒曲折，

punctured by over 100 boring holes made by previous surveyors.

当中分布着 100 多个 前期勘探留下的钻探孔。

Furthermore, both teams had to constantly check their coordinates

另外，双方队伍必须 不断测量他们的坐标

to ensure they were on track to meet within 2 centimeters of each other.

以确保隧道贯通时误差小于两厘米。

To maintain this delicate trajectory,

为了保障轨道的精准性，

the borers employed satellite positioning systems,

隧道掘进机内设置有卫星定位系统，

as well as paleontologists who used excavated fossils

同时，擅于挖掘化石的 古生物学家也帮助施工队

to confirm they were at the right depth.

确保他们处在正确的深度。

During construction, the project employed over 13,000 people

共有一万三千多人 参与到隧道建设中，

and cost the lives of ten workers.

其中十人因工程丧生。

But after two and a half years of tunneling,

挖掘了两年半后，

the two sides finally made contact.

双方终于碰面了。

British worker Graham Fagg emerged on the French side,

英国工人格雷厄姆·法格 出现在了隧道的法国段，

becoming the first human to cross the channel by land since the Ice Age.

他是冰河世纪以来从陆地上 跨越英吉利海峡的第一人。

There was still work to be done—

工程还没有结束——

from installing crossover chambers and pumping stations,

还需要设置连接通道、抽水站，

to laying over a hundred miles of tracks, cables, and sensors.

铺设一百多英里长的 轨道、电缆和传感器等。

But on May 6, 1994, an opening ceremony marked the tunnel’s completion.

1994 年 5 月 6 日， 隧道的开幕式标志着正式完工。

Full public service began 16 months later,

16 个月后，隧道面向公众投入使用，

with trains for passengers and rail shuttles for cars and trucks.

火车运送乘客， 区间火车摆渡汽车卡车。

Today, the Channel Tunnel services over 20 million passengers a year,

如今，英法海底隧道每年服务的 旅客数量超过两千万人次，

transporting riders across the channel in just 35 minutes.

只需 35 分钟便可跨越英吉利海峡。

Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege of making this trip legally.

可惜并非所有人 都能合法地跨越海峡。

Thousands of refugees have tried to enter Britain through the tunnel

曾经有成千上万的难民尝试 通过隧道进入英国，

in sometimes fatal attempts.

有时甚至因此丧命。

These tragedies have transformed the tunnel’s southern entrance

这些悲剧使得隧道南边的入口

into an ongoing site of conflict.

变成持续发生冲突的地方。

Hopefully, the structure’s history can serve as a reminder

希望隧道的历史可以提醒人们，

that humanity is at their best when breaking down barriers.

消除隔阂对于人性来说才是最好的。