North America - Page 2
Stay up to date with the latest North America updates from the global tunnels industryConstruction 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
Race to repair Numerous hydroelectric plants include headrace tunnels that are getting old and operate beyond their originally-envisaged design life. Canada-based Dean Brox of Dean Brox Consulting discusses the importance of inspections and maintenance for hydroelectric tunnels
Drill and blast tunnelling Did you know... rock blasting has been used since the preexplosives time, when rock tunnels were excavated by building fires at the face and cracking the rock by throwing cold water on the hot surfaces? Later on, blasting with black powder was invented and since then, there have been steady developments in explosives, detonating and delaying techniques, and in our understanding of the mechanics of rock breakage by explosives.
CONEXPO 2020 The heavy equipment expo held every three years is back this March with new products and technologies on show from more than 2,800 exhibitors
The real world Liuna Local 183 is breaking ground on a tunnel training centre that will help the Greater Toronto Area access on-site training for tunnelling and safety skills, Nicole Robinson reports
Fit for duty Establishing baseline cognitive response times that can be compared over time helps mitigate or even avoid accidents on the job. Christina Lindstrom, Obayashi, explains this entirely new approach to ensuring a safe and healthy working environment
Health, safety and wellness Reducing on-the-job injuries is vital, but so is staying well. T&T highlights improvements in the industry
Ship shape Construction has started on Seattle’s Ship Canal stormwater tunnel, Paola De Pascali reports
Spotlight Seattle The fast-growing city is under pressure to provide congestion relief to crowded streets and affordable housing, Nicole Robinson reports. New tunnel projects are being designed to do both
Credit check Greg Norris of B2W Software explains how software can help track employee licenses, certifications and training
TAC Awards 2019 From rising starts to nationally acclaimed projects, the Tunnelling Association of Canada presents its annual awards each fall to recognize the deserving individuals and engineering accomplishments in the Canadian tunnelling sector. The 2019 awards were presented in Winnipeg on October 21.
To boldly go underground Paola De Pascali speaks with Jamal Rostami, head of mining engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, who has been looking at the challenges of tunnelling on the moon
International relations On behalf of TAC, Andre Rancourt travelled to China to attend a workshop hosted by the China Railway Society.
In demand in Montreal A local building boom has affected the supply of shotcrete to contractors across the tunnelling and wider construction industry. Liam Ireland, technical sales engineer, King Packaged Materials Company, reports
Navigating live tunnel connections Connecting the Des Plaines Tunnel System to the McCook Reservoir is one of the latest – and more challenging – components of TARP. Report by Cary Hirner and Faruk Oksuz of Black & Veatch, and Carmen Scalise of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
The China experience Chinese industrial leaders outlined their hopes for growth in construction equipment exports at Bauma this spring. The underground market is a key target for these suppliers, but the process of going abroad has not been without challenges, even with an enormous push from Beijing to finance foreign infrastructure, Alex Conacher reports
TAC 2019 This year’s workshop focuses on the use of tunnelling technologies and underground space for stormwater and flood control
