Bringing all together
25 March 2024With so much tunnelling work in China, recent issues of T&TI have carried major articles ahead of the country hosting the World Tunnel Congress (WTC 2024), in April. The articles have given a sense of the scale and variety of major project activity across the nation – and an idea of the strategic vision for rail/metro transport and use of tunnelling technology in rapidly expanding Shenzhen, the host city of WTC 2024.
In this issue, we are pleased to share an article on a further major transport link – this time coming from the edge of Shenzhen to cross the Pearl River estuary, to Zhongshan on the other coastline. Multiple civil engineering structures are employed on the Shen-Zhong fixed link, including a 5km-long immersed tube tunnel which is a colossal Steel- Concrete-Steel (SCS) composite structure.
Details of the project and many others in Shenzhen, and in nearby Hong Kong, and farther across China, will be among the huge volume of information shared with delegates from across the world gathering at WTC 2024.
Many presentations and papers at WTC 2024 will feature descriptions of many recent and planned projects from across the globe – and developments in technology, such as described in other articles in this issue, looking at hard rock microtunnelling, steel fibres for segmental lining, and R&D for ‘swarm’ robotics underground.
But technology is not all that matters; vision for the use of underground space is vital and inspires, as discussed in a further article.
WTC 2024 will also hold events and meetings of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA), which is also the occasion it is marking its 50th anniversary. The gathering will hear updates from ITA’s national members on recent activities and plans, while all reflect on the past in a voted list of Top 50 past projects.
We are pleased to take the opportunity of WTC 2024 and ITA’s celebrations to carry a profile interview with Arnold Dix, President of ITA.
