How do you build a tunnel underwater?

And what does it take to win an award for it? Ellie, Rwayda and Laura discuss the Dalian Bay Undersea Tunnel in China which won Global Project of the Year 2024 for its novel construction methods and use of first-of-a-kind technologies, including floating giant concrete tubes into the bay to submerge and then connect them, an on-site laboratory so that experiments can inform the construction, and use of sensors in the specially developed cement which is designed to last an impressive 100 years in the frigid water of the bay.

References:

• Read about why it was awarded Global Project of the Year in Engineering News-Record
• News coverage on chinadaily.com
• More news coverage at ctgn.com
• A journal article about testing the special design of cement which used the manufactured sand