Latest from Tunnels and Tunnelling
A broad education
Implementing sustainable field training for geology and geological engineering is mutually beneficial for students and industry. Nicholas Vlachopoulos, professor in the civil engineering...
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Bend and breakthrough
A short drive in Oregon could revolutionize how small bores are advanced through congested ground. Jon Young looks at how removing the driver from SBUs could cuts costs and make impossible projects...
Read moreLATEST NEWS
GERMANY/ITALY - Herrenknecht has completed the EPBM for the Santa Lucia road tunnel in Italy. The 15.87m titan is 200mm more in diameter than the previous record holder, the 15.62m-diameter Sparvo machine.
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Tunnel between Quebec City to Levis is feasible
Canada - The results of a feasibility study presented on September 13 find a tunnel between Quebec City and Levis of 7.8km in length could be built for approximately CAD 4bn (USD 3.03bn).
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State money secured for Interlake tunnel project
US - California’s governor signed legislation on September 13 that allocates USD 10M of state money for the Interlake Tunnel project that would connect Lakes Nacimiento and San Antonio.
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Ottawa initiates traffic tunnel environmental assessment
Canada - The Ottawa City Council voted 21-2 on September 13 to move forward with the environmental assessment for a new tunnel in its downtown connecting the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge and Highway 417 for mixed traffic.
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Second section installed in the TK tunnel
Poland - Crews successfully installed the second section for the TK tunnel in Warsaw on September 12, Mammoet announced, using a rapid bridge replacement technique.
LATEST FEATURES
The March presentation to the British Tunnelling Society describes the application of 'cloud based data' to real time review of temporary works performance against design within tunnels, illustrated by a number of example projects in the UK and Hong Kong. Presenters were Angus Maxwell, chief executive of Maxwell Geosystems and Marcos Invernici, standing in for Anmol Bedi, both of Bedi Consulting
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Explosion prevention in coal mine TBM drifts
Since the first record of a colliery explosion in Belgium, nearly 300 years ago, significant improvements have been achieved in the prevention of explosions in mines. However, gas explosion hazards are not unique to coal mines but also occur in TBM projects with 48 explosion fatalities recorded worldwide calling for continued diligence and improvements in explosion risk management. Success of TBMs in civil engineering infrastructure in poor ground conditions resulted in consideration of its application to a coal mine in Queensland
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Dust Buster
A new real-time dust monitor being trialled at the new Liverpool Street Crossrail station could help to reduce the respiratory risks of working in a tunnel. Keren Fallwell reports
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First place
China is planning more infrastructure projects, such as the Shen-Zhong Link that consists of two artifi cial islands, two bridges and the world’s widest immersed tunnel. Michael Tonnesen, chief tunnels specialist from Cowi, talks to technical journalist Rhian Owen about the design competition process for the project and why an immersed tunnel is the right choice
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Norwegian nous
The Norwegian tunnelling sector is seeing many positive trends. According to annual tunnelling statistics there is a steady increase in excavated volume over the last decade. Paola De Pascali reports
BLOGS
Getting both sides
In mid-August the construction union UCATT issued a statement saying that Laing O’Rourke’s new safety policy ‘safety differently’ could erode the foundations of health and safety culture. It further argued that the company’s new director of health and safety for construction, Andy Sneddon, wants to impose detrimental views from Professor Sidney Dekker “who advocates sweeping away a lot of the detail in health and safety provision, and just concentrating on saving lives”. This, it said, neglected the impact of more minor workplace injuries on workers’ lives.
In mid-August the construction union UCATT issued a statement saying that Laing O’Rourke’s new safety policy ‘safety differently’ could erode the foundations of health and safety culture. It further argued that the company’s new director of health and safety for construction, Andy Sneddon, wants to impose detrimental views from Professor Sidney Dekker “who advocates sweeping away a lot of the detail in health and safety provision, and just concentrating on saving lives”. This, it said, neglected the impact of more minor workplace injuries on workers’ lives.
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Tunnel Buzz
So the referendum came and went, and the UK looks set to leave the European Union. Emotions are high and column inches long when it comes to the topic so I won’t add my refl ections on the politics or economics of the situation here.
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Information overload
Ome 40 miles from Silicon Valley, Peter Hirshberg delivered a captivating presentation on infrastructure, innovation and the Maker City to the largest gathering of the tunnelling industry in history, as one of WTC’s keynote speakers.
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The lamps are going out
In light of the recent vote by the British people demanding a split from the European Union, it is hard not to think about the history of the continent. Times are peaceful now, although it does not always seem that way, and looking back even a century reveals an unrecognisable political mess. This month marks an important historical landmark as far as peace in Europe goes; it is exactly 100 years since the start of the Battle of the Somme.
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Learning through doing
TODAY CELEBRATIONS are underway in Switzerland as the world’s longest railway tunnel opens. It is 1 June, and stakeholders and political figures are attending a day-long programme of events at the tunnel, prior to a festival for the people involved in the project which is due to take place tomorrow.
LATEST EVENTS
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Underground Tunnel Technology Presentation
Stephanie Brown
