TBM cutting head face. Photo courtesy of Port of Miami Tunnel
TBM cutting head face. Photo courtesy of Port of Miami Tunnel[/caption] The Port of Miami Tunnel held its official grand opening ceremony May 19 to mark “substantial completion” of the $912 million, two-tube, 0.75 mile tunnel providing direct access from the Port to the City of Miami. Revere provided the controls for the conveyors removing the muck dug out by the tunnel boring machine (TBM). The controls were housed in atransportable e-house that was able to be repositioned when the TBM completed the first boring and was turned around to make the second boring. At the time of the ceremony, it was anticipated that final inspection of all safety systems would require an additional couple of weeks before the tunnel would be open to public traffic. However, as of June 19, vibration problems with some ventilation fans were identified, requiring additional testing and resolution. Current projections have the tunnel being ready for traffic sometime in mid-July (see video report).