Patent ID: 6450734
Filing Date: 2002-09-17
Classification: E02D

Abstract:
An underwater tunnel system for vehicular traffic connecting first and second shores of opposed land masses separated by a body of water, said underwater tunnel system using submarine manufacturing technology, comprising:a first watertight elongated inclined stationary tubular tunnel section for ingress into and egress from said underwater tunnel system of the vehicular traffic traveling through said underwater tunnel system, said first inclined stationary tubular tunnel section being embedded into the first shore, extending transverse of the shoreline and into the body of water and having a land-based proximal end and a distal end immersed in the body of water at a predetermined depth at a location distant from the first shore; a second watertight elongated inclined stationary tubular tunnel section for ingress into and egress from said underwater tunnel system of the vehicular traffic traveling through said underwater tunnel system, said second inclined stationary tubular tunnel section being embedded into the second shore and extending transverse of the shoreline and into the body of water and having a land-based proximal end and a distal end immersed in the body of water at a predetermined depth at a location distant from the second shore, the longitudinal axis of said second inclined stationary tubular tunnel section being generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the first inclined stationary tubular tunnel section; a plurality of elongated watertight intermediate tubular tunnel sections, each of said intermediate tubular tunnel sections extending between opposed ends and having a longitudinal axis; each of said first and second inclined stationary tubular tunnel sections and of said intermediate tubular tunnel sections being constructed using the submarine manufacturing technology without need of external fixed structures otherwise necessary to provide a watertight boundary for joining the tubular tunnel sections together; and watertight joint means joining together said opposed ends of said intermediate tubular tunnel sections and joining said distal ends of said first and second inclined stationary tubular tunnel sections to associated ones of said ends of said intermediate tubular tunnel sections such that the longitudinal axes of said first and second inclined stationary tubular tunnel sections and of said intermediate tubular tunnel sections are substantially aligned.