Successful test delivers DUNE steel beam a mile underground at SURF | Local News | bhpioneer.com

Supported from above by a crane, the L-beam is carefully moved into position by the rigging team for transport down the shaft in Lead, South Dakota. Photo by Matthew Kapust, SURF

LEAD — Teams from Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have successfully completed the first test lift and lowering of a six-ton L-shaped steel beam for construction of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in Lead.

Transporting a large, irregularly shaped steel component down a narrow mine shaft into a cavern a mile underground at SURF is not an easy task due the size and weight of the beam and the elevator-like cargo space about the size of a backyard storage shed. The successful test is a significant step forward, allowing engineers and crews to anticipate future challenges.

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