Preparatory work is continuing on a £100 million waste water tunnel project in Glasgow.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown visited the site of the Shieldhall Tunnel at the Craigton industrial estate today, 07 March.

The £100m project is 3.1 miles long and will provide 90,000 cubic metres of extra storm water storage once completed.

The team building the structure, known as the Glasgow Tunnels Partnership, is a commercial joint venture between Costain and VINCI Construction Grands Projets (corr.) called CVJV.

During his visit, Mr Brown witnessed work progressing on preparations to enable the tunnelling to start.

The first 250 metres of the tunnel, and the launching chamber, are being built using the open cut technique, involving excavation between concrete piled walls bored into the bedrock.

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The works will allow a modern Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to launch and begin building the main part of the tunnel between Craigton and Queen's Park.

The 1,000-tonne, 180 metre-long TBM is due to arrive in a few weeks.

Speaking during his visit, Mr Brown said: "I'm delighted to be here to see how the Shieldhall Tunnel project is progressing. This project is the biggest upgrade of Glasgow's sewer network in over a century and is a central part of Scottish Water's investment programme to improve the area's drainage and sewerage infrastructure, which is essential to the Greater Glasgow area's economic prosperity."

Douglas Millican, Scottish Water's Chief Executive, added: "Much of the Greater Glasgow area's existing waste water infrastructure was built in Victorian times and the modernisation of the system and construction of new underground assets, such as the Shieldhall Tunnel, will protect the natural environment, reduce the risk of flooding and meet the needs of growth, economic development and regeneration.

"It is also supporting jobs and employment opportunities, including a number of apprenticeships."

The CVJV team is also preparing to begin improving parts of the existing waste water network in parts of the south side of Glasgow, including the part where the new tunnel will be connected to the existing network near Queen's Park.

[Pictured: The Tunnel Boring Machine which will be used to develop the Shieldhall Tunnel]

(LM)