Latest from Tunnels and Tunnelling
Digging deep In the lower Himalayas
Twin 8.5m-diameter, 10.5km-long parallel headrace tunnels subject to overburdens up to 1,870m with high horizontal stresses were excavated for the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project in northeastern Pakistan using two gripper TBMs. This article was written by Gary Peach, resident TBM engineer for Multiconsult
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Underground spaces unveiled
In his latest book review for Tunnels and Tunnelling, Paul Perry of Hewson Consulting Engineers reads Underground Spaces Unveiled by Han Admiraal and Antonia Cornaro from the ITA’s Committee for Underground Space
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Finsbury park square works
The November BTS talk describes the square works for Finsbury Park and was presented by three speakers; Farid Acha, lead tunnel engineer for London Underground; John Elliot, director of underground infrastructure for Golder, and Menelaos Lydakis, chartered engineer and project manager of Spencer Group.
Read moreLATEST NEWS
Board approves funds for Delta Tunnel
US – The board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted July 10 to provide the additional financing needed for the full construction of the California Water Fix (Previously called Delta Tunnel) project to modernize the state’s badly outdated and increasingly vulnerable water delivery system.
US – The board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted July 10 to provide the additional financing needed for the full construction of the California Water Fix (Previously called Delta Tunnel) project to modernize the state’s badly outdated and increasingly vulnerable water delivery system.
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Worker critically injured on Forrestfield-Airport Link
Australia – A worker has been injured on the Forrestfield-Airport Link project. The man is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after being operated on for non-life-threatening head and facial injuries.
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Utility installation mitigation proposals set out
Great Britain – A group of construction and road groups that include the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) and the RAC Foundation have put forward proposals to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Department for Transport that measures are taken to reduce or eliminate the problems of disruption to strategic urban infrastructure by utility roadworks.
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TTC announces new underground facility
US – TTC honors the past while driving the future through the establishment of the Barbera Underground Infrastructure Research and Training (BUIRT) Facility.
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Jilin breakthrough
China – The TBM mining the tunnel for the Jilin Yinsong Water Supply Project Lot 3 broke through in mid-May. The 24.3km tunnel forms a key part of the 736km scheme to divert water from a reservoir in the upper Di’er Songhua River to the drier regions of central Jilin Province in northeast China.
LATEST FEATURES
Mehdi Hosseini, now at LBA, and Hamid Samadi of main contractor Farab give this account of work on Sri Lanka’s Uma Oya project, and steps taken to optimise performance on site
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Better below
Critics cite delays and cost overruns when new infrastructure is being considered and at the root of this is often construction impeded by issues with utilities. A new emphasis on underground utility engineering looks for ways to better cope with the urban subsurface, Nicole Robinson reports
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Good neighbor
Paola De Pascali spoke with Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors about the challenges of the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line in Los Angeles
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Turnaround
Crews complete Montreal’s Rue Jarry tunnel on time after severe flooding, Desiree Willis of Robbins reports
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Tunnelling in Paradise
Rachel Sackett, director of marketing for Southland Holdings looks at the construction of Hawaii’s longest and largest TBM tunnel
LATEST Blogs
The dirty “p” word
Cities aren’t built by engineers, they are built by those who step up and lead,” according to Sevaun Palvetzian CEO of Civic Action, a Toronto based non-profi t coalition to address the region’s social and economic future. Her sentiment, while true, is aimed at building inclusive leadership at the civic level, an effort that is laudable. However, it’s also a message the industry should take personally. More people from the engineering and construction fi elds, as well as science, medicine and other professional realms, need to be involved in politics at all levels from the local school board to the federal government.
Cities aren’t built by engineers, they are built by those who step up and lead,” according to Sevaun Palvetzian CEO of Civic Action, a Toronto based non-profi t coalition to address the region’s social and economic future. Her sentiment, while true, is aimed at building inclusive leadership at the civic level, an effort that is laudable. However, it’s also a message the industry should take personally. More people from the engineering and construction fi elds, as well as science, medicine and other professional realms, need to be involved in politics at all levels from the local school board to the federal government.
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An Austrian Method
A joint venture led by Porr has been awarded a major contract on the largest tunnelling project in Austrian history, the Brenner Base Tunnel. The design-build consortium, which includes Porr, Hinteregger & Söhne Baugesellschaft, Società Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua, and Itinera will construct Lot BBT H51 Pfons-Brenner for around EUR 966M (USD 1.2bn).
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Look back to look forward
January marked 200 years since Marc Brunel patented the first tunnelling shield. The cover of this issue shows just how far the industry has come since he tunnelled under London’s river Thames, and further in the features illustrate the strides the industry has made over the last decades.
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World tunnel congress
The international tunnelling industry will gather in Dubai towards the end of April for the 44th ITA General Assembly and World Tunnel Congress. This should be an interesting one.
