The “Karpatka” TBM shield breaks through the S19 tunnel

On Thursday morning, 10 December 2025, a ceremony was held at the construction site of the S19 Rzeszów Południe-Babica expressway to mark the completion of drilling works on the first 2,255-metre-long tunnel section and the breakthrough of the “Karpatka” TBM shield.

The bored tunnel is part of the S19 expressway, which forms a section of the international Via Carpatia corridor connecting Northern and Southern Europe. In Poland, the route will be approximately 700 kilometres long and will run through five provinces. The investment has been regarded as an above-average engineering challenge, as the tunnel was drilled from the outset in extremely difficult geological conditions, additionally complicated by the risk of methane occurrence and landslides. The works carried out using mining techniques are supervised by the director of the District Mining Office in Krosno.

The “Karpatka” shield, the heroine of the entire operation, is one of the largest tunnelling machines in Europe. Its diameter exceeds 15 metres and it weighs 4,400 tonnes. The machine is powered by 12 engines, each with a capacity of 1 megawatt. Its 440-tonne cutting ring rotates at a speed of up to two revolutions per minute.