Balfour Beatty has taken delivery of the largest UK-owned Earth Pressure Balanced tunnelling machine, as part of a £32m project to improve water quality in the Manchester Ship Canal for its customer, United Utilities.

The 140 tonne machine is designed for operation in soft ground conditions containing water under pressure, differing from other large tunnelling machines that operate in dry conditions. It was driven from Staffordshire to the Manchester site before being lifted down into one of the three 30 metre deep shafts the company has constructed as part of a project to prevent undiluted sewage entering the ship canal.

Balfour Beatty’s supply chain partner Murphy’s will now start tunnelling under the Trafford Park site, including a road, to create a 3.66 metre wide, 700 metre long tunnel.

The company is also constructing a 35 metre wide, 12 metre deep screening facility and a 30 metre deep stormwater detention chamber.