Tire tread for civil engineering works vehicle, this tread having a tread surface (10) intended to come into contact with the ground, this tread comprising a central part (21) delimited by grooves (3) of circumferential overall orientation, these grooves delimiting lateral parts (22) axially towards the outside of the central part (21), each lateral part (22) being provided with a plurality of transverse grooves (6) delimiting a plurality of blocks (7), the transverse grooves (6) having a cross section of minimum area (ST) and being distributed substantially uniformly in the circumferential direction, this tread being characterized in that the central part (21) is provided with a plurality of channels (51) extending transversely under the tread surface (10) and passing right through the said central part (21), each channel (51) comprising a first and a second end (52, 51), these first and second ends opening into the grooves (3) of circumferential overall orientation, at least one end of each channel opening into a transverse groove (6) of the shoulder parts (22), and in that each channel (51) has a cross-sectional area (SC) at least equal to 5% of the area of the minimum cross section (ST) of the transverse groove (6) into which it opens.Tire provided with such a tread.