On September 24, "Yuexihao," China's largest-diameter double-shield hard rock tunneling machine developed independently by China, rolled off the production line in Sichuan. The equipment has an excavation diameter of 13.01 meters and a total weight of over 3,500 tonnes. It will subsequently be deployed for the construction of the Yuexi Tunnel on the Jinkouhe–Xichang Expressway in Sichuan.

"Yuexihao" is equipped with a full-process intelligent construction system and has been designed for adaptability to complex geological conditions that may be encountered during the construction of the Yuexi Tunnel, such as large deformation of soft rock and fault fracture zones. The equipment adopts double-shield hard rock tunneling technology, which can simultaneously complete support and other construction operations during the tunneling process, serving the long-distance mechanized construction of the Yuexi Tunnel.

The Yuexi Tunnel has a total length of approximately 18.4 kilometers and is a controlling project of the Jinxi Expressway. Public engineering data show that the tunnel adopts a separated double-tube layout, with some sections constructed using a large-diameter double-shield TBM, combined with advanced geological detection and other means to identify the surrounding rock and complex geological conditions ahead, providing a basis for construction parameters for continuous tunneling by the equipment.

The Jinkouhe–Xichang Expressway connects the regions of Ganluo, Yuexi, Xide, and Xichang, and is an important connecting corridor between expressways such as the G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway and the G7611 Duxiang Expressway. After the project is completed and opened to traffic, the three counties of Ganluo, Yuexi, and Xide will be connected to the expressway network.