Abstract: The rapid and sustainable development of national economy has proposed an urgent demand for the construction of traffic infrastructure. Various long-distance cross-river pipe gallery tunnel projects have been emerging rapidly. To ensure the safe and efficient construction and operation of long-distance cross-river pipe gallery tunnels in complex ground, risks and difficulties including shield seal failure problem, excessive cutterhead and cutting tool wear, combustion and explosion accidents, and dangerous manual inspection of were systematically analyzed. The overall seal performance of shield tunnel was improved by strengthening the main bearing seal, improving the tail shield seal, and optimizing the segment joint seal. The service life of cutterhead and cutting tools was extended by adding wear-resistant alloys and optimizing tool shapes, respectively. Biogenic gas was prevented from entering the shield tunnel by innovatively adopting clay shock methods, strengthening biogenic gas monitoring and renovating electrical equipment. Operation safety of long-distance cross-river tunnels was ensured by developing the unmanned automatic systems. Under the premise of adopting the above construction and operation technology optimization schemes, the tunneling speed of cross-river pipe gallery tunnel was significantly improved, and there were no safety incidents during construction and operation. The research results have important reference value for the construction and inspection of long-distance cross-river pipe gallery tunnel under similar conditions in the future.