The group of five toured the construction site and the prefabrication hall in Lutoryż where the tunnel segments are being produced.
They had helped to choose the name Karpatka for the TBM excavating the 2.2km tunnel along the Rzeszów Południe-Babica section of the S19.
The competition, organised bythe General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways and the Mostostal Warszawa and Acciona Construcción consortium, attracted 1,500 entries.
Construction manager Artur Salachna said the visit was an opportunity to “share knowledge on safety and explain the complexity of the construction process related to road and tunnel infrastructure”.
TBM Karpatka, which has a diameter of more than 15m, was launched in July to build the two-lane tunnel. Mostostal Warszawa and Acciona Construcción consortium will also construct 15 cross-passages and an emergency passage, two technical buildings and a tunnel management centre.
TBM Karpatka is expected to take around nine months to complete the first bore.
