The top 10 name finalists are:
- BESSY THE BORING BUFFLEHEAD submitted by Caleb of Broadwater Academy
- CHESSIE submitted by Grace of Nandua Middle School
- HARRIET submitted by Desmand of Occohannock Elementary School
- KATHERINE submitted by Nicolas of Virginia Beach Middle School
- MARY JACKSON, MIRACLE DIGGER submitted by Adyana of Virginia Beach Middle School
- MS. TAYLOR submitted by Shania of Kiptopeke Elementary School
- NIBI submitted by Kaitlyn of Virginia Beach Middle School
- POCAHONTAS submitted by Quinn of Broadwater Academy
- SOTERIA submitted by Sophia of Old Donation School
- VIRGINIA submitted by Pedro of Occohannock Elementary School
The on-line polls are now open!
Enjoy the essays or video as submitted by area 6th grade students and then cast your vote daily for your favorite name!
In keeping with tradition, the contest rules requested that the name be that of a female, real or fictional, and have some significance to the Commonwealth, the Chesapeake Bay region, nature, transportation or engineering. Students were encouraged to be creative, clever and witty with their submittal of a 200-word (or less) essay or video no longer than 2 minutes.
Naming a tunnel boring machine (TBM) with a female name dates back to early mining traditions, when miners looked to Saint Barbara to protect them as they worked underground. The naming of the machine in advance of it beginning to work is a sign of good luck for the project ahead.
More than 120 entries were received from 6th grade students from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News and the Eastern Shore.
The Review Committee that selected the Top 10 names included representatives from the following Project partners: Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission; Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture; Jacobs; Mott MacDonald; HNTB; and Women's Transportation Seminar, Hampton Roads Chapter.
The winning name will be displayed on the side of the TBM during the launching ceremony which is anticipated to take place in early spring of 2019.
About the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project:
The massive TBM, currently being manufactured in Germany by Herrenknecht, at 42 feet in diameter and over 300 feet long, will excavate a one mile long, $756 million tunnel under Thimble Shoal Channel in the Chesapeake Bay. The new bored tunnel will run parallel to the CBBT's existing tunnel that carries more than 4 million vehicles each year under the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The new tunnel will carry two lanes of southbound traffic while the existing tunnel will carry two lanes of northbound traffic. Upon completion, it will become the first transportation tunnel constructed by a TBM in the Hampton Roads area.
