The “Chengdu-Guiyang High-speed Railway – Yujingshan Mountain Tunnel Crossing Giant Karst Cave and Underground River” project won “Overcoming the Challenge” award presented by the International Tunneling Association (ITA) on December 4. The project was designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd., constructed by China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and supervised by a branch of China Railway Academy Co., Ltd. in Sichuan. The award is the highest honor in the global tunneling sector.

The ITA Tunneling Awards 2020 Ceremony takes place online due to the coronavirus. The first five editions were held in Switzerland, Singapore, France, China and the United States, respectively.

ITA awards were initiated in 2015 to celebrate outstanding projects and individuals bringing breakthroughs and innovation to the global tunneling sector. It is widely acknowledged as the “Oscar” of the global tunneling sector. Every year, around eight out of some 30 shortlisted projects and individuals win the awards. The “Overcoming the Challenge” award was newly introduced this year to honor the project that has overcome predictable and unpredictable extreme challenges in its construction. CREC claimed “Major Project of the Year” award in 2016 and “Technical Innovation of the Year” in 2018.

Inside the tunnel.

Yujingshan Mountain Tunnel Crossing Giant Karst Cave and Underground River project is located in Weixin County of Yunnan Province. The tunnel, built on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, has a designated speed of 250 km/h and a length of 6,306 meters. The region it passes features fragile ecology, posing daunting challenge to the construction. The successful completion of the project marks that the Chinese company made a breakthrough in tunneling across giant Karst caves, a landmark event in China’s tunneling history. (Sources: China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway Academy Co., Ltd.)