Léon Loïcq de Lobel was a French engineer, explorer, and early megaproject promoter whose name became closely linked to the first serious international attempt to advance a Bering Strait fixed link. Between 1898 and 1907, he pursued a transcontinental scheme to connect North America and Eurasia by rail via Canada, Alaska, Chukotka, and the Trans-Siberian Railway — including tunnels toward the Diomede Islands as the natural midpoint between the continents. By Fyodor Soloview, March 2026
by Scott Blair, ENR
November 11, 2014
InterBering, LLC
BERING STRAIT TUNNEL &
INTERNATIONAL RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT
English
Connecting people and continents.
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America – Asia – Europe
International Railroad
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By Ed Peters, South China Morning Post — Oct. 4, 2020
John Arthur Lynch: An Early Advocate of a Bering Strait Connection. Irish-born American lawyer and Civil War officer John Arthur Lynch (ca. 1828-1900) was among the earliest documented promoters of transportation links between North America and Asia through Alaska and the Bering Strait region. Working from Washington, D.C., he petitioned Congress to investigate routes toward Russia, Japan, and China. His advocacy prompted an 1886 Senate bill and federal review, helping establish the Alaska-Asia transportation concept in the official U.S. record decades before detailed bridge and tunnel proposals emerged.
Fyodor Soloview, April 2026.
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Joint Tunnel Construction Project between USA & Russia
In early March 2011, a 6.2-m (20.3-ft) diameter Robbins Double Shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) crossed the finish line in Sochi, Russia. The machine used to drill a 4.5-km (2.8-mile) long section of rail tunnel that will form part of the transportation infrastructure of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. The TBM advanced through difficult ground at average rates of 100-120 m (330 to 390 ft) per week for contractor OJSC Bamtonnelstroy, a division of the SK Most Company.
This portion will be used as a service tunnel for Complex #3, a section of Sochi's transportation infrastructure which includes road and rail tunnels.
The 6.2-m Robbins TBM achieved high rates despite difficult conditions. The tunnels run through mixed ground including massive to completely fractured limestone with clay seams. Some sedimentary rock, including sandstone and siltstone is present, along with fault zones consisting of breccias and conglomerates. In May 2010, the machine was stopped after encountering a significant fault zone consisting of broken rock and running soft ground. Field service personnel and crew successfully freed the machine by excavating a bypass tunnel around the TBM, freeing the cutterhead. Following the restart, a combination of continuous probe drilling and ground treatment with cement silicate and foam kept the machine moving forward.
A second, 10.0-m (32.8-ft) diameter Robbins Double Shield TBM is being used to excavate a parallel 4.6-km (2.9-mile) long main railway tunnel using a continuous conveyor system for efficient muck removal. A 13.2-m (43.3-ft) diameter highway tunnel is also under construction.
While the service tunnel is now complete and lined, work still remains on the main rail tunnel. The 10.0-m diameter Double Shield was modified and repaired by Robbins site personnel prior to the start of excavation. The 10-m TBM is currently 726 m (2,382 ft) into its portion of tunnel, with an expected completion date of March 2012.
All together, over 20 road and rail tunnels totaling 40 km (25 miles) from Adler to Alpika areas are under construction for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Project owner DCRC-Sochi, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, hopes to complete all rail and road infrastructure by June 2013.
The 6.2-m (20.3-ft) diameter Robbins Double Shield TBM in Sochi, Russia.
Source - TBM: Tunnel Business
Sochi, Russia
Robbins Double Shield tunnel boring machine (TBM)
OJSC Bamtonnelstroy, a division of Russian SK Most Company, has completed a 4.5 km long section of tunnel in Sochi, Russia.
The Robbins Company,
Solon, OH website: www.robbinstbm.com
A 6.2 m (20.3 ft) diameter Robbins Double Shield completed excavation of the Sochi Complex #3 Service Tunnel in March 2011
The 6.2-m (20.3-ft) diameter Robbins Double Shield TBM overcame significant fault zones characterized by fractured and running ground.
Robbins Double Shield
Breaks Through at Russian Rail Tunnel