The gigantic Big John excavator went into operation January 6 at the construction site of Tunnel 40 on the North Link Railway (Suao-Hualien Railroad), one of Taiwan's Ten Major Construction Projects.
北迴鐵路崇德一帶，即蘇花公路最驚險的「清水斷崖」，地質多屬堅硬的石灰岩，大理石。隧道挖鑿工作相當繁重。施工單位特於一月六日開始使用「大約翰隧道開挖機」從事此一艱鉅的工程。