London--Tunnelling work under London for the £14.8-billion (20 billion euros, $23 billion) Crossrail project was completed on Thursday in a major milestone for Europe's biggest construction project.
Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson attended an underground ceremony to mark the final breakthrough under London's financial quarter after 26 miles (42 kilometres) of tunnelling.
Standing next to "Victoria" -- one of the eight giant boring machines used for the digging -- Cameron said that the project was "absolutely magnificent" and hailed it as an "engineering triumph".
"Crossrail is an incredible feat of engineering that will help to improve the lives of working people in London and beyond.
"The project is a vital part of our long-term plan to build a more resilient economy by helping businesses to grow, compete and create jobs," he said.
Johnson, who like the prime minister wore orange protective clothing, said the tunnel completion was "a huge success for the whole of the UK economy".
The tunnelling, which began in 2012, involved the machines boring their way through the capital, dodging existing tunnels, sewers and underground rivers, at a rate of up to 100 metres a week.
London's mayor praised the "Victoria", which weighs 1,000 tonnes and measures seven metres in diameter, as a "monumental muck-munching machine" at the underground ceremony attended by some 150 workers.
More than 10,000 people work on Crossrail.
Millions of tonnes of the excavated soil have been shipped off to create a nature reserve for birds on an island in the Thames Estuary east of London.
Crossrail will link towns west and east of the capital, providing a vital connection for commuters who rely on London's overcrowded transport system.
The first trains, which will travel overground outside London, are planned to run from 2018.
AFP
