News prompts Lovell's swift JLE exit

Last week the industry's great and good (and some journalists) found themselves assembled beneath London Bridge station, awaiting the arrival of a 150 tonne Kawasaki earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine.

The occasion marked the last major breakthrough on London's œ2 billion Jubilee Line Extension project, and the completion of the westbound running tunnels.

The face marked the crossover point between the Costain-Taylor Woodrow contract 104 for London Bridge and Aoki-soletanche's contract 105 for the running tunnels between London Bridge and Canada Water. Various senior executives from the construction companies accompanied Jubilee Line project director Hugh Doherty and local MP Simon Hughes.

Alan now-you-see-him-now-you-don't Lovell, chief executive of Costain was spotted in full safety gear near the tunnel face, until an obviously distressing telephone call prompted him to exit the tunnel at high speed. It seems news had arrived of the precipitate fall in Costain shares.

But, back at the tunnel face, ominous low grumbling sounds could be heard. The Giant Muncher and Cruncher Digger was arriving. As the vibrations increased a last minute frenzy of frantic bets were placed on which bit of the face would crumble first.

Following Lovell's hasty withdrawal, similar betting could have taken place on Costain, had the import of that call been known at the time. Costain now seems to be waiting for the arrival of its own Muncher and Cruncher.

Finally, the face, which looked suspiciously like a block wall, gave way, and the whirling head of the TBM emerged amid a cloud of dust. Enquiries revealed that the wall was erected to avoid the embarrassment caused by less carefully stage-managed non-breakthroughs on the earlier eastbound tunnels.

On that occasion the original earth and been left intact. Unfortunately, the excavators needed to construct an extra ring, forcing the waiting dignitaries to kick their heels for an hour and a half.