Tunnel boring machines, called TBMs for short or "moles," feature circular plates on the front called shields. Disc-shaped cutters on the shield tear through rock and dirt, which passes through openings in the shield onto a conveyor belt inside the TBM that deposit it behind the machine. The types of TBM shields vary according to whether the mole is to dig into soft, wet ground or hard rock. Shield diameters range from Aker Wirth's 26.3-foot (8.03 m) shield on its TBM used for Switzerland's Linth-Limmern power stations to Hitachi Zosen's "Big Bertha," with its diameter of 57.5 feet (17.5 m). Moles designed to dig tunnels below the water table also feature chambers at the front to pressurize the ground being dug through. For large jobs, multiple TBMs may be called for. The Channel Tunnel required 11. For a surface level tunnel, this is no problem. If the tunnel is to be bored deep underground, an access shaft, usually circular, is drilled and lined with concrete. The TBM is lowered into it, and the tunnel is excavated from that point. For long tunnels, multiple access shafts are drilled. When the tunnel is finished, the access shafts may become ventilation shafts and/or emergency exits. If they are not so employed, they are left in place for the life of the tunnel. Segments of pre-cast concrete are erected behind the TBM to form a ring at pre-determined intervals. The sprayed concrete, or shotcrete, coats and stabilizes the tunnel walls. The shotcrete may include steel or polypropylene fibers to strengthen it, much the way steel rebar is used to strengthen cast concrete. The shotcrete also contains an accelerant to help it stick to the tunnel walls and dry quickly.

Summary:
Choose the right tunneling machine for the job. Get the machine into position. Erect tunnel supports as the machine bores through. Spray concrete on the excavated walls between the support rings.