An article by Vokya D, added on January 30, 2024 2 min. reading
The significant progress of work on line 17 of the Grand Paris Express should be highlighted with the arrival of the Florence tunnel boring machine in Bonneuil-en-France. This stage marks a major turning point, since more than half of the line route has now been built.
The underground heroines: Sarah, Bantan, Dorine and Florence
Since 2020, four tunnel boring machines, Sarah, Bantan, Dorine, and more recently Florence, worked impressively to dig several sections of tunnel the future line 17. These tunnels, some of which will be shared with line 16, meander into the depths of the Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d’Oise.
The 7 last September, Florence completed her second underground adventure on the Flandres well site in Bonneuil-en-France. It was at this location that two years earlier, the tunnel boring machine had started its first journey of 3,4 km of tunnel for line 17. This time, the objective was to build a new 2,7 km portion of tunnel from Gonesse.
A symbolic milestone reached: more than half of the route constructed!
With the completion of this portion, a symbolic milestone has been reached on line 17. More than half of the route of this 26,5 km long line has now been completed. This represents a tunnel of almost 15 km, which extends between Saint-Denis and Gonesse.
11,5 km of route remaining to be completed
In the coming months, an aerial part of 5,5 km will be created between Villepinte and Tremblay-en-France. At the same time, a final tunnel boring machine will prepare to go underground to dig the 6 km of tunnel remaining. This final phase will notably link the new metro at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Mesnil-Amelot.
The underground adventure of line 17 continues to write its story, testifying to the ingenuity and perseverance deployed in the realization of this major Grand Paris Express project.
