Vesalius

There are already two tunnels under the River Tyne, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. In 2008 a third one was started, to cope with the demands of the extra traffic.It will be an immersed tube tunnel made of 4 precast concrete sections. The 300ft dredger Vesalius has just begun work today to remove 400,000 tonnes of sediment from the river. It is a suction cutting dredger which sucks up water and sediment reducing the amount of silt disturbed, which is a lower risk to the environment, including fish stocks. The sediment removed will reclaim 13 acres on the Port of Tyne site.