A feasibility study was undertaken and it was decided that a pipe-in-tunnel approach was the most viable. Due to constraints at the points of entry and exit it was necessary to cut two vertical shafts, one on each river bank. Linepipe sections were to be welded together, in the entry shaft, and pulled through the 2.44 m diameter tunnel on plastic rollers, which were later to become the permanent supports during operation. On completion of the installation within the tunnel, two vertical sections of pipeline were to be installed in the shafts for connection to the main pipeline system. Based on the results of the study it was possible to show that, with a number of modifications to the originally-proposed design, the crossing would be fit-for-purpose.
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