Chinese news agency says the first time China using a tunnel boring machine in highway construction.

http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2020-03/09/c_138857508.htm

The China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) started with a 15.36-kilometer tunnel between the cities of Leshan and Xichang, in Sichuan Province, it says.

Can this really be true? All this time was China not ever using TBM for road tunnels? What did they do? They used drill & blast or they did not build any road tunnels at all? Crazy. They are now the biggest tunnel boring machine producers in the world and they stick to D&B for tunneling? And only building rail and utility tunnels? Crazy too

Can this be true?