North America - Page 1
Stay up to date with the latest North America updates from the global tunnels industryLatest North America Update
Nat – Back to Rock The biennial NAT tunneling conference will take place at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, US on 19-22 June. Here follow a few tips to get the best out of the event
Inspired through meaning Keivan Rafie looks at why many engineers have recently joined the so-called ‘great resignation’ and suggests that something more than a pay cheque and stable job may be needed
A long line of success Dean Brox of Dean Brox Consulting reviews the benefits and successes associated with precast concrete tunnel linings when used for hydropower tunnels
TBM challenges on a demanding sea outfall Gary Peach, project manager and consultant with Mott MacDonald (Doha, Qatar) discusses the challenges and management deployed to overcome and successfully complete what has been hailed as the Middle East’s longest storm and groundwater tunnel
Under pressure Dr Donald Lamont and Roy Slocombe recently gave the British Tunnelling Society lecture on low, intermediate and high-pressure compressed air work, highlighting the launch of revised BTS CAWG guidance. Report by Dr Donald Lamont and Roy Slocombe
Tunnelers prepare for Nat in ‘Philly’ One of the two major biennial tunneling shows in the US, the North American Tunneling Conference in Philadelphia (NAT2022) is preparing to open its doors for the first time since 2018
Mitigating a water bearing fissure Emily Riley won the British Geotechnical Association’s (BGA) annual Cooling Prize competition for young professionals with her paper ‘The engineering mitigation of a water bearing fissure in the Chalk at the Tideway Deptford Church Street shaft’. It is reproduced here by kind permission of the BGA
3D parametric structural design and documentation workflow Jeff Fontana and Eric Westergren of McMillen Jacobs look back over the past 50 years and note that architecture, engineering and construction have gone through several advances in design development and documentation
An innovative tunnel and contracting model VTA is extending the BART transit system into Silicon Valley under a two-phased program. Phase 2, currently in design and engineering, features an innovative single-bore tunnel configuration. Report by the VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II Team
Harding prize gains momentum for 2022 Young tunnel engineers can raise their profile and make their work visible to the civil engineering community by entering the Harding Prize, named after the founder chairman of the Society, Sir Harold Harding
Set in stone For centuries the home of quarrying and more recently mining of the eponymous stone, Portland, England could become home to an exciting new visitor attraction housed in a mine and demonstrating the potential of underground space. George Demetri reports
A challenge packed drive Erez Allouche, Matthew Devitt and Tyler Horton of Stantec Consulting, and Keivan Rafie of Hatch (Vancouver) discuss the relocation of a gas pipeline microtunneled through complex soils and beneath twin railroads, a river and multiple utility lines
Digging the deal on infrastructure George Demetri takes a look at the state of US infrastructure, the possible causes of its lacklustre performance and how it may be improved, taking in along the way the views of some high-profile engineers and consultants
Defying the quakes Reconstructing an existing dam and building new intakes, outtakes and spillway form part of an ambitious 10-year programme in the drought-hit and earthquake-prone Santa Clara Valley, California. George Demetri reports
The doors to success Bernd Hagenah, Sean Cassady, Jesse Harder and Ana Ruiz-Jimenez of HNTB Corp discuss the benefits of and considerations for the implementation of platform edge doors in modern underground transit and metro rail systems
Pipejacking on the rise Pipejacking is typically a horizontal technique. But attempting it vertically from inside a tunnel below the widest river in the world is an altogether new technology that is delivering environmental and economic benefits to Argentina. Julian Champkin reports
Construction claims and dispute resolution Every time the conditions of a construction project change – whether new ideas develop for implementation, or some unanticipated circumstances occur – the project’s cost and schedule will be affected. These changes and their cause could be interpreted by different stakeholders in various ways. So, there could be conflicts, disagreements and disputes on what portion of the cost and project schedule the contractor needs to be compensated for.
RETC RAISES THE CONFERENCE BANNER Following the interruption to the tunnel conference scene caused by the pandemic, the RETC Conference is back and – Covid allowing – looks set to take place in Las Vegas on 13-16 June 2021
Robbins reborn After a brief period involving Chinese part-ownership, veteran TBM pioneer Lok Home has bought back his company to set the revived Robbins on a new course of growth. Julian Champkin spoke to him
