Boom goes underground

Russian contractor Upravleniye Mekhanizacii Metrostroy is using an UpRight AB 38 articulated boom in the construction of a metro station on the Saint Petersburg Metro.

The machine was rented from LTECH and is currently being used to install cabling and communications systems within the tunnel and mounting the tunnel shield in the Ligovskiy Prospect station.

This tunnel shield, believed to be the only one of its kind in Russia was specially made in Germany for sinking the shafts of metro tunnels under residential buildings, which have a historical value. The shield is not designed for great depths but for difficult conditions where the ground is weak and for under the Saint Petersburg - Obvodny Canal.