Construction of an access road for construction vehicles took place at the Iki Japan-Korea Tunnel Ashibe Inclined Shaft site from April 23rd to 25th, and the 6m wide, 150m long access road was successfully completed. This marks the completion of the remaining part of the first phase of construction, which was carried out in September last year, and on the third day, a road circumnavigating the site was also completed.
Next up will be construction of the tunnel entrance. Once the tunnel entrance is established in Iki, following those in Karatsu and Tsushima, the Japan-Korea tunnel leading to the Korean Peninsula will become a clear image.
Although there were concerns about rain on the first day of construction, it did not rain and the work progressed smoothly, with a road being built up to the planned mine entrance. Due to rain that continued from the night, work on the second day began in the afternoon, and the area around the planned mine entrance was also cleared (the bamboo forest was cut down).
That evening, a backhoe was used to excavate part of the cut earth where the mine entrance was to be installed (width: 1.5m, height: 5m), and the soil condition of the cut earth that would be required for the mine entrance installation work was confirmed. About 4m from the surface was weathered soil (well-drained sandy soil mixed with boulders), and below that was hard clay ground. Since 4m of weathered soil had accumulated, it was confirmed that a 1:1 gradient (45°) for the cut slope was desirable. Also on the third day, work was carried out to prepare the road surrounding the site. Trees that were obstructing the work were cut down, and the ground was leveled with a backhoe, allowing heavy machinery to access the area near the mine entrance from the road.
The site for the Ashibe Inclined Shaft is located on the east coast of Iki Island. The Japan-Korea Tunnel is planned to run north along the seabed east of Iki Island, and the tunnel (inclined shaft) that will be excavated starting from this tunnel entrance will lead to an advance pilot shaft that will be excavated below the main shaft (it will be excavated ahead of the main shaft and will serve to check the geology, etc. After the main shaft is completed, it will be used to drain spring water, etc.).
[Photo] Day 1: A 100m vehicle access road was completed from the city road in the upper left to the mine entrance.
[Photo] Day 2: Preparing the site before installing the tunnel entrance. The site, which was covered with bamboo and weeds, was transformed into the tunnel construction site.
[Photo] Inspecting the soil at the tunnel entrance. The red stake in the center is the center of the tunnel, and leads to the coast in the back.
