Articles By Subject: TBM-Driven Tunnels
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Airport Link opening delayed
Problems have caused a delay of six weeks to the opening of Australia’s largest infrastructure project Full story...Delhi to get TBM control centre
Delhi Metro is about to set up a control centre to monitor up to 26 TBMs that will be working simultaneously on the Indian capital’s metro network Full story...Crossrail - updating the Connaught Tunnel
Dewatering wells have been sunk at the 130-year-old Connaught Tunnel, which will form part of the Crossrail route in east London Full story...Crossrail - TBM breaks ground at Royal Oak
Tunnel boring machine ‘Phyllis’ has broken ground at Royal Oak and marked the start of excavation on Crossrail’s first section of tunnel between Royal Oak and Farringdon, scheduled for completion in 2013 Full story...PB/LiRo team wins NY syphon contract
A joint venture comprising Parsons Brinckerhoff and The LiRo Group has been awarded a contract by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to provide engineering services and oversee the construction of a new water syphon between Brooklyn and Staten Island Full story...Robbins TBM overcomes variable ground in Mexico
A Robbins EPB machine – currently the largest TBM in Mexico at 10.2m in diameter– recently completed its tunnelling run on Mexico City’s metro Line 12 – the capital’s first metro line for a decade Full story...Cat TBM achieves Beijing metro breakthrough
Caterpillar has announced that one of its TBMs has made a major breakthrough on the excavation of Lot 6 on metro Line 9 in Beijing, China Full story...
Arup wins design work on Santiago metro stations
Metro de Santiago has appointed UK-based engineering services provider Arup to lead the concept design of 11 stations in the Chilean capital Full story...Thames Tunnel controversy continues
Westminster City Council has objected to the design of two planned ventilation shafts located close to the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament Full story...RETC calls for abstracts
A Call for Papers has been issued by the 2013 Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference (RETC) Organising Committee. June 30 is the deadline Full story...Strabag wins contracts for Vienna metro
Austria-based contractor Strabag has won two civils and tunnelling contracts worth US$117 million for extending Vienna’s metro system Full story...Sweden seals Hallandsås viability with tight lining
At the Hallandsås project in Sweden, the use of a watertight, prefabricated segmental concrete lining has proved to be a major component in making the project feasible Full story...Tunnel boring machine arrives in Bangkok
A 6.44m-diameter EPB TBM has been delivered to Thailand-based contractor Italian-Thai Development PCL for use on Contract 1 of Bangkok’s Blue Line extension Full story...Waneta tunnel excavation complete
Excavation has been completed on the US$900 million Waneta Expansion Project in British Columbia, Canada Full story...
Sydney's new tunnels on course to set Australian record
New tunnels to be built in Sydney, Australia, will be the deepest and longest rail tunnels ever built in the country Full story...Airport Link woes spell more trouble for Leighton
Leighton Holdings has had to revise down its balance sheet for the Brisbane Airport Link due to unforeseen problems Full story...
Special shotcrete saves time on Malaysian tunnell
Three TBMs working on Malaysia’s Pahang Selangor raw water tunnel are making good progress, partly attributed to a novel type of shotcrete used for primary support under high cover Full story...Shortlist drawn up for London's Crossrail fit-outs
Crossrail has announced a shortlist of five teams for a US$634 million tunnel fit-out contract in London Full story...
Canary Wharf station box completed
The box structure for Canary Wharf station, one of Crossrail’s key interchanges in London, has been completed Full story...Alpine team wins Stuttgart 21 tunnel
Austria-based Alpine Construction Co has announced that it is part of a team that has been awarded a US$386 million contract for the construction of the Bad Cannstatt feeder tunnel in Stuttgart, Germany Full story...Consortium wins high-speed contract
A consortium led by ERM, which includes Mott MacDonald and Temple Group, has won two major environmental impact assessment contracts for the UK's High Speed 2 line Full story...NAT Indianapolis gears up for June launch
The North American Tunnelling conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, US, on June 24-27 Full story...
Crossrail TBM1 ready to go
The first of eight TBMs set to start tunnelling on London’s Crossrail project was unveiled recently at a ceremony in London, attended by Mayor Boris Johnson, transport secretary Justine Greening and other dignitaries Full story...
Delhi recruits TBM army for Phase 3 metro expansion
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is considering using up to 35 TBMs to work on the Phase 3 metro expansion project, totalling 44km and 30 stations Full story...Jerusalem-Tel Aviv drive time
Israel National Roads Co (INRC) has published the tender for the construction of twin highway tunnels on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway Full story...Port of Miami tunnel shows promise
Good progress has been reported on the US$607 million Port of Miami Tunnel (POMT) in Florida, US Full story...New boss at Aker Wirth
TBM-maker Aker Wirth, subsidiary of international oil service company Aker Solutions, has announced that Einar Brønlund has taken over the management of the company. He succeeds Christoph Kleuters, who will be leaving shortly Full story...Best soil conditioning for EPB
Testing of silty clay from Iran’s Ahwaz metro involved using slump tests, and altering the amount of water and foam agent. HR Pasand Masoumi and K Bagherinia explain Full story...
Around the world in many tunnels
Having had a successful international tunnelling career, François Pogu has turned his engineering efforts to London’s Lee Tunnel Full story...
Bringing back-up to the fore
Desiree Willis explains why TBM back-up systems are so vital for a good advance Full story...Turning data into information
The plethora of data generated on a project needs careful management and modern techniques to extract maximum benefits for all. By Clemens Schmuck Full story...Turning up the heat in Paris
CSM Bessac, in a JV with Darras & Jouannin, has completed a 2,110m heating tunnel. By Yann Rouillard Full story...Work begins on India's first below-river metro
Tunnelling has begun on Kolkata’s East-West Metro Corridor project, linking the IT hub in Salt Lake with Howrah, across the Hooghly River Full story...
Bright start at Brenner
Work has begun on the Brenner Base Tunnel, which, when complete, will increase rail freight traffic through the Alps. Rodney Craig reports Full story...SELI completes third extension of Rome B1 line
Italian TBM-maker SELI has finished the third extension of Rome’s B1 metro line, from Conca d’Oro to Piazzale Jonio Full story...Bilfinger Berger scoops double win in Berlin
Germany-based Bilfinger Berger (BB) has won two tunnelling contracts worth more than US$306 million for the construction of the U5 underground metro line in downtown Berlin, and for the underground link between the main station and the urban rail ring Full story...Sanctions
Sanctions on the Iranian regime will probably have a crippling effect on the country's civil tunnelling sector. But whether they will affect the progress of the alleged nuclear weapons programme is debatable Full story...Merkel and Chinese premier visit Herrenknecht plant
German chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited the Herrenknecht plant (HTE) in Guangzhou last month Full story...Contractors advised to bid for Fehmarnbelt tunnel
Femern, the Danish agency co-ordinating the Fehmarnbelt fixed link between Denmark and Germany, said it wishes to attract bids from international contractors and advised them to become acquainted with the project Full story...TBM begins part two of Israel high-speed line
A 10.3m-diameter Herrenknecht EPB TBM recently started excavating the second section of the US$1.6 billion Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed rail line – hailed as the largest and most complex project currently under way in Israel Full story...Modelling the Gorge 2nd Hydro tunnel
In his second and final article, Gregg Davidson looks at the alignment, hydraulic modelling, and energy and financial analyses for the Washington State project Full story...Crossrail spoil disposal details announced
Contractor BFK has appointed GB Railfreight to transport around a million tonnes of material which will be excavated from Royal Oak to Northfleet on Crossrail’s C300 western running tunnels contract Full story...China tunnel completed
A tunnel rated as ‘high-risk’ due to the highly complex geology it runs through has been completed in China Full story...
G2T gaining momentum
In the first of a two-part article, Gregg Davidson discusses the history and design of the Gorge second power tunnel in Washington state, US Full story...
Crossrail ready for March construction start
Crossrail has announced that tunnelling on Europe’s largest construction project – the proposed east-west rail scheme across London – will start in March Full story...Green light signals opportunities
Recently given the go-ahead, HS2 will provide the UK with a much-needed high speed rail link. But what challenges and opportunities does it present? Full story...
Breakthrough at trans-Andean water tunnel
A 5.3m-diameter Robbins main beam TBM recently completed its 12.5km-drive on the Olmos Trans-Andean tunnel in Peru Full story...
Serbia on course for first metro
Serbia and France have signed an agreement that will see the construction of a metro in Belgrade Full story...
Airport Link TBMs laid to rest
What happens when retrieving TBMs is not feasible and they have to be buried underground? Ylana Burton describes such an instance on Brisbane’s Airport Link project Full story...ARUP wins concept design deal for Gladstone tunnel
The Brisbane office of global engineering consultant Arup has been awarded a tender by coal-seam gas supplier Arrow Energy for the concept design of a 6km tunnel Full story...Green light for UK high-speed line
Tunnellers across the UK breathed a sigh of relief last month when the UK government gave the go-ahead to HS2 (phase one) – the US$50 billion high-speed rail network that will link London with Birmingham and is expected to be operational by 2026 Full story...
Breakthrough on major HK drainage scheme
A TBM broke through recently on the Lai Chi Kok drainage tunnel in Hong Kong – a major infrastructure project undertaken by the Drainage Services Department Full story...HS2 appoints first partners
HS2 – the body overseeing the next phase of the UK’s high speed rail project – has announced the proposed appointment of CH2M Hill as its development partner Full story...Wayss & Freytag wins major contract in Germany
German tunnel specialist Wayss & Freytag has been awarded a US$553 million contract in Germany for the construction of a 35km wastewater tunnel Full story...UK tunnelling bucks construction gloom
New forecasts show that the current economic uncertainty shrouding UK construction looks set to continue, although tunnelling is still booming Full story...
Tunnel proposed for leaking New York aquaduct
New York City is planning to construct an ambitious tunnel that will bypass the failing sections of an aquaduct which conveys water from upstate reservoirs to the city's inhabitants Full story...Thiess wins US$141 million Sydney cable tunnel contract
Thiess has won a US$141 million contract to deliver the 132kV City East Cable Tunnel in Sydney, Australia Full story...Arup wins CSG tunnel award in Brisbane
Global infrastructure consultant Arup has been awarded the tender for the concept design of a 6km CSG tunnel in Queensland, Australia. Full story...Thai tunnel group proposes SMART-style structure
Thailand Underground and Tunnelling Group wants the Thai government to construct a mixed-use tunnel that will prevent severe flooding in Bangkok Full story...Merry Christmas and happy new year from the WTO team
This is the last World Tunnelling Online (WTO) newsletter for 2011. The WTO team would like to wish all our readers and advertisers a successful and prosperous New Year. Full story...Hungarian society organising Euro conference
ITA-AITES has endorsed the 1st Eastern European Tunnelling Conference (EETC) 2012, to be held in Budapest, in September Full story...Athens symposium in place for March
Backed by the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES), the Greek Tunnelling Society is organising a two-day symposium on ‘Practices and Trends for Financing and Contracting Tunnels and Underground Works’ Full story...Green measures claimed to obviate need for super-sewer
It seems the tide could be starting to turn against the proposed Thames tunnel, dubbed London’s ‘super sewer’ Full story...Malaysia shortlists five project bids
Reuters News Agency reports that the Malaysian government has shortlisted five firms to bid for a US$2.2 billion rail tunnel project Full story...CTP's Ottawa light-rail project nears end
Progress is being made on the first stage of Ottawa’s planned 40km light-rail network, which includes the construction of a 12.5km LRT system and 3km of tunnel under downtown, as well as 13 stations, three of which will be in the tunnel portion Full story...Pointless tunnel?
London needs its Thames tunnel. The use of green technologies some argue could replace the 'super-sewer' are unlikely to be implemented over the long term and on such a huge scale Full story...Metrolinx ready to invite tenders for Toronto LRT
Canadian transit agency Metrolinx is about to invite tenders for the construction of the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown Light Rapid Transit line (LRT) in Toronto Full story...NZ mayor in search of inspiration
Auckland’s mayor Len Brown is seeking the latest developments in tunnelling technology and infrastructure in the hope of facilitating the New Zealand capital’s rail plans Full story...
Hong Kong's new lines
Eric Chui looks at the construction of two key rail lines in Hong Kong, now a major tunnelling centre in Asia Full story...
Evaluating loads for design
Hideto Mashimo, Toshiaki Ishimura & Satoshi Morimoto probe the influence of construction loads on shield tunnel segment design through field measurements Full story...
Dominican double act
A Herrenknecht TBM has excavated a 12.4km intake tunnel though changing rock layers for a hydroelectric facility in the Dominican Republic, writes Elena Weidt Full story...
Miami tunnel back on track
Following a series of delays and objections, excavation has finally started on the 1.2km Port of Miami tunnel in Florida, US Full story...
Alpine breakthrough in Germany
Construction company Alpine recently announced a breakthrough on the US$108 million New Kaiser Wilhelm tunnel on the rail line between Koblenz and Perl, Germany Full story...Athens tunnel symposium gears up for March 2012
Boasting a promising line-up of speakers, the Greek Tunnelling Society is organising a two-day international symposium on 'Practices and Trends for Financing and Contracting Tunnels and Underground Works' to be held in Athens on March 22-23 2012. Full story...
Hitachi Zosen to supply Alaskan Way TBM
Following the recent signing of a contract with Seattle Tunnel Partners, Japan-based Hitachi Zosen Corporation will supply a TBM to bore the US$1.35 billion SR 99 Tunnel Project in Seattle Full story...Another trans-Hudson tunnel idea becomes a possibility
The US senate has approved limited funding for a new trans-Hudson rail link only months after the cancellation of the ARC tunnel Full story...
Tenders invited for Toronto rapid transit tunnels
Tenders are about to be invited for the construction of 17.5km of new, twin-bored tunnels for a new light rapid transit line in Toronto, Canada Full story...Murphy scoops London cable tunnel contract
UK Power Networks has awarded civil-engineering contractor Murphy a US$15 million contract to partially design, construct and project manage a 1.3km cable tunnel in London Full story...Washington DC ready to start on super sewers
Washington DC is preparing to construct two tunnels as part of a US$2.6 billion project to prevent combined sewer overflows into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers Full story...Costain-Skanska JV hands first tunnel portal to Crossrail
Construction of the portal at Royal Oak on the west London portion of Crossrail has been completed one month ahead of schedule by the Costain-Skanska JV Full story...AECOM to dig deep Indianapolis tunnel
The city of Indianapolis, US, has awarded a US$25 million contract to global infrastructure provider Aecom for the provision of construction-management services for the US$280million Deep Rock Tunnel Connection (DRTC) and dewatering pump station in Indianapolis Full story...MVB completes Beckton shaft for Lee tunnel
The first of three shafts at Beckton for London’s Lee tunnel has been finished by the MVB joint venture, comprising Morgan Sindall, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche Full story...Glendoe hydro almost back on track
Work is said to be progressing well at the Glendoe hydroelectric scheme in Scotland, where a rockfall two years ago caused a blockage in the headrace tunnel and the temporary closure of the plant Full story...
Baku borer begins metro excavation
Desiree Wills looks at the excavation of a new metro line that has been characterised by sticky clay Full story...
Copenhagen's new circle line
The Danish capital is adding a new line to its metro network. Rodney Craig investigates what this involves Full story...
Safety inspections in Brisbane
More than 20 safety issues have been identified on Brisbane’s Airport Link tunnel following the death of a construction worker Full story...
Phase 1 tunnelling completed on Second Avenue Subway
Tunnelling has been completed on the first phase of New York’s Second Avenue Subway scheme, following the recent breakthrough of a Herrenknecht TBM at the Lexington Avenue-63rd Street station in Manhattan Full story...
Robbins slurry TBM on the go
US-based TBM-maker Robbins has been preparing its first foray into the slurry TBM sector, as a 6.26m-diameter machine bores a 2.7km tunnel below the waters of China’s Zhanjiang Bay in the south of the country Full story...SELI JV wins Esti headrace repair contract in Panama
A joint venture comprising Italian TBM-maker Seli, Spain’s OSSA and Swiss engineering design firm Lombardi, has signed a US$53 million design-build contract for the repair of the Esti headrace tunnel in Panama Full story...
Rock classification debate continues
Rock classification methods such as the Q-System are debated in World Tunnelling, following two recent articles. Here, Prof W Wittke and Dr R Sommer respond to last month’s response by Dr Nick Barton Full story...Green light for Alaskan Way SR99 tunnel
After a decade of debate, review and analysis, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has formally allowed Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to proceed with the SR 99 tunnel project beneath downtown Seattle Full story...
Mega projects draw to a close
Dave Kristy and Melanie Kwee look at two sewer schemes in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, which are designed to satisfy its rapid growth Full story...
Looking in good shape
Hitachi Zosen makes TBMs for soft to hard ground, but its range includes special-shaped varieties such as rectangular and side-docking machines, writes Yasuharu Hanaoka Full story...
Conveying Bogotá’s waste water
Gilles Broll and Guillaume Roux look at two recent projects in Colombia Full story...
Rock future secured
Norway has been the home of much progress with rockbolts in recent years. Below are three companies that have contributed to this development Full story...SELI bags Italian subsea tunnel
Italian TBM-maker SELI has won a contract worth US$54 million to build a sub-sea, high voltage cable tunnel between Sicily and Calabria, Italy. Full story...FCC in TBM handover ceremony
TBMs for Panama’s Metro Line 1 were officially handed over during a ceremony in Schwanau, Germany, attended by high-ranking Panamanian officials Full story...LTA awards final metro contracts
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has awarded the last three civil contracts totalling US$467 million for its Downtown Line 3 metro project. Full story...
Herrenknecht set to make record TBM for Russian tunnel
Herrenknecht has received a record-breaking order for the world’s largest diameter TBM to excavate the Orlovski tunnel in St Petersburg, Russia Full story...New CEO for Crossrail
Crossrail has a new chief executive in Andrew Wolstenhome, who was appointed to the position in May, and will take up the position in September Full story...Herrenknecht TBM delivered to Lee tunnel site
UK water utility Thames Water has taken delivery of an 8.9m diameter Herrenknecht TBM which will be used to bore the US$647 million Lee tunnel in London. Full story...Japanese TBM to bore Seattle tunnel
Hitachi Zosen Corporation has been chosen to supply the TBM that will bore the Alaskan Way (SR99) tunnel in Seattle, US. Full story...Alain Deleard heads NFM
French TBM-manufacturer NFM Technologies announced recently that Alain Deleard has been appointed chief executive officer, taking over from Luc Devaux Full story...Carillion to build Toronto interchange
Carillion Canada, a subsidiary of UK contractor Carillion, has won a US$200 million contract from the Toronto Transit Commission to build the Vaughan Corporate Centre Station Full story...Expressions of interest invited for Crossrail portal
Crossrail has placed a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, seeking expressions of interest for the remaining tunnel portal contract (C340) at Victoria Dock, London Full story...Excavation completed on Beijing Line 9 metro
Excavation has been completed on Beijing’s Line 9 metro tunnels Full story...Gautrain opening marred by ongoing water ingress
Water has continued to seep into one of the tunnels of South Africa’s Gautrain at an alarming rate Full story...More debate needed
A controversial paper published last month in WT has spawned a strident response in this issue from a well-known tunnel consultant. Both arguments have benefitted WT and its readers Full story...Brightwater segments too large for tunnel
Millions of dollars worth of concrete lining segments on Washington State’s US$1.8 billion Brightwater conveyance project have had to broken up because they are too big Full story...Robbins TBM brought in after flooding in Mexico City
US-based TBM-maker Robbins said that torrential rains and floods in Mexico City have fortuitously fast-tracked the use of one of its EPB TBMs for a critical infrastructure project Full story...San Francisco subway gains momentum
After months of criticism and uncertainty, it looks as if the Central Subway project in San Francisco is gaining increasing support, following the approval of US$57 million by the Board of Supervisors for the purchase of two TBMs Full story...Rubber gaskets for Jerusalem-Tel Aviv tunnels
Israel-based Ein Shemer Rubber Industries said it has been awarded a contract to supply gaskets for the 28km twin tunnels on Israel’s Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed line Full story...Aker Wirth awarded for innovation
German TBM-maker Aker Wirth has been hailed as one of Germany’s top 100 innovators in a scheme that recognises creativity and vision Full story...
Team TBM going for gold
Desiree Willis reports on the double shield TBMs pushing through difficult ground to create rail tunnels in time for Sochi’s Winter Olympics Full story...
Interest invited for Doha metro
Qatar Railways (QRail) has invited local and international consortia to submit expressions of interest by September 11, for the design and construction of the Doha metro in Qatar Full story...Eivind Grøv addresses Malta conference
Proponents of an undersea tunnel connecting Malta and Gozo must have been heartened by confirmation that the rock along the proposed alignment appears to be geologically promising Full story...Skanska awarded contract to extend Prague metro
Skanska has been awarded a US$218 million contract to provide technical services for Prague’s subway Line A extension Full story...Prestigious award for Canadian sewer
A sewer tunnel project in Greater Sudbury, Canada, has been named Public Works Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association Full story...Milan Line 4 metro gets underway
Italian construction and civil engineering group Impregilo has won, provisionally, the concession to build and operate Line 4 of the Milan metro Full story...Thames tunnel debate hots up
Following the unease expressed by some London boroughs, a commission has been set up to look into the worthiness of the Thames tunnel, the 32km ‘super sewer’ designed to put an end to polluting storm discharges Full story...New rockfall in Niagara tunnel
A rockfall in the 10.4km Niagara tunnel has been reported by the Niagara Falls Review Full story...Caterpillar TBMs advance in Winter Olympics works
Caterpillar, the construction equipment maker that acquired Lovat, announced recently that one of its TBMs, a Cat 243, has excavated the third tunnel complex on a mountain resort in Russia Full story...Working in high-pressure compressed air
Dr Donald Lamont, a civil engineer with decades of experience in health and safety, describes some of the issues associated with the use of HPCA Full story...Soundings on segments
Dr Robert Sturk outlines a breakthrough in using impact echo measurement for the non-destructive quality control of backfill material in segmentally lined tunnels Full story...Risk management on track
Dr Rupert Lieb & Heinz Ehrbar outline the risk management system used on the Gotthard Base Tunnel in which the geology assumes critical importance Full story...Skanska wins design-build overflow project
Skanska USA has won a US$83 million contract to design and build a wastewater overflow tunnel in Washington DC Full story...Revised Ottawa tunnel design saves millions
Planners and engineers working on Ottawa’s light rail system have come up with a way to shave US$216 million off the project cost: the line will be run through a shallower tunnel in the downtown area Full story...
Robbins breaks records at Qinling
US-based TBM-maker Robbins has announced that two of its TBMs have achieved record advance rates in ‘exceedingly difficult conditions’, excavating a twin-bore rail tunnel in China’s West Qinling Mountains Full story...
Greek tunnelling still going strong
Dr George Dounias, vice-president of the Greek Tunnelling Society, outlines the feverish tunnelling activity that has taken place in the country recently Full story...
Final TBM breakthrough on Airport Link
Tunnelling on Brisbane’s Airport Link has been completed, following the recent breakthrough of the second TBM, which excavated a 2.5km bore from Toombul to Lutwyche Full story...
Antwerp banks on tunnels
Twin TBM-bored tunnels excavated under difficult geological conditions will facilitate the rail infrastructure of the Belgian port, reports George Demetri Full story...
Robbins TBM breaks through at Niagara
Big Becky, the Robbins TBM boring the new 10.2km hydro-tunnel at Niagara, Canada, has holed through finally Full story...Herrenknecht fortunes blossom in Asia
Recent figures show that Asia is generatng a huge workload for TBM-maker Herrenknecht Full story...
Let's go to San Francisco
RETC is one of North America's major tunnelling shows. Here is a selective list of exhibitors Full story...Robbins TBMs smash Chinese EPB records
US-based TBM-maker Robbins has announced that an earth pressure balance (EPB) machine has broken project records in Zhengzhou, China Full story...Aker Wirth wins Koralm contract
Aker Wirth has won a contract to supply two telescopic shield machines to the Koralm tunnel project in Austria; regarded as one of the most important traffic infrastructure projects in Europe Full story...Brenner Base tunnel go-ahead
In April, a ceremony in Innsbruck, Austria, marked the start of work on the US$11.4 billion Brenner Base tunnel, a twin-tube rail link between Innsbruck to Fortezza, Italy, running beneath the Alps Full story...Herrenknecht expands portfolio
TBM-maker Herrenknecht has announced the expansion of its component portfolio to include Schäfer & Urbach (S&U), a well known manufacturer of high-pressure and system technologies Full story...
City with tunnel pedigree
Michael Burton looks at the rich tunnelling history of the Canadian city of Edmonton Full story...
Avoiding crossed lines
Andy Mitchell and Ailie MacAdam are key leaders of the Crossrail delivery team. They talk to George Demetri about their careers and current roles Full story...
Boring completed on Vancouver water scheme
Excavation of the Seymour-Capilano tunnel project in Vancouver, Canada, has been concluded, following the completion of the 270m-deep Capilano shaft Full story...
Thames Water TBM ready for Lee Tunnel challenge
At a ceremony in Schwanau, Germany, TBM-maker Herrenknecht handed over a 7m-diameter, 100m-long TBM to to Thames Water, which will be used to excavate the 6.4km Lee Tunnel under East London Full story...Finland hosts ITA-AITES event
Preview of the World Tunnel Congress and General Assembly in Helsinki on May 20-26 Full story...Melbourne sewage project nears completion
The final section of tunnel on the US$681 million Northern Sewerage Project (NSP) in Pascoe Vale, Melbourne, Australia, has been completed. Full story...A unified structural approach
Using a tunnel should provide the same level of experience as that provided by other great civil engineering structures. But that is frequently not the case. Can architects help enliven the proceedings? Full story...German institute honours Martin Herrenknecht
Martin Herrenknecht has been made an ‘honorary senator’ by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for his contribution to developing tunnelling technology. Full story...Assignment in Austria for Pöyry
Austria-based ÖBB Infrastruktur has awarded Pöyry a US$5.7 million deal to work on the Koralm Railway Tunnel (KAT2) project in Austria. Full story...Breakthrough at Lyon metro extension
A Herrenknecht S-546 mixshield TBM boring the 1.4km extension to the Line B metro in Lyons, France, broke through in April. Full story...
Robbins breaks through in Russian rail tunnel
Robbins has announced that its 6.2m-diameter double-shield TBM has completed its bore of a 4.5km section of service tunnel for the Sochi Winter Olympics. Full story...
Foam injects pace to tough Austrian job
Manfred Köpf and Roland Mayr discuss the use of foam injection to stabilise unstable rock mass around a TBM tunnel in Austria Full story...
Momentum on Crossrail now 'unstoppable'
Crossrail has announced that momentum on its east-west metro railway across London is now unstoppable, following the award of contracts for the construction of the Thames Tunnel and the refurbishment of the Connaught tunnel. Full story...Excavating Mexico City
Proving to be one of the Americas’ tunnelling hotspots, Desiree Willis looks at two TBM projects in the city Full story...Breakthrough on Lyon metro extension
A Herrenknecht S-546 mixshield TBM boring the 1.4km extension of the Line B metro in Lyon, France, broke through at Oullins earlier this month Full story...Two key water tunnels completed in New York
New York City has announced the completion of two TBM-bored tunnels that will convey water to and from the Croton Water Filtration Plant Full story...
Final breakthrough achieved at Gotthard
AlpTransit has announced that final breakthrough has now been achieved in the west tube of the Gotthard base tunnel, Switzerland. Full story...German institute honours Martin Herrenknecht
Martin Herrenknecht has received an award from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for his contribution to tunnelling technology Full story...Robbins breaks through at Sochi
A 6.2m-diameter Robbins double-shield TBM completed a 4.5km-section of rail tunnel that will form part of the transportation infrastructure of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia Full story...Japan quake prompts Seattle viaduct rethink
The mayor of Seattle has called for the “structurally dubious” Alaskan Way viaduct to be shut down four years earlier than planned, according to the Seattle Times. Full story...Cavico announces Vietnam breakthrough
Vietnam-based Infrastructure firm Cavico has announced a ‘major’ breakthrough at the Song Giang 2 hydropower project in Vietnam. Full story...China high-speed tunnel completed
Construction of China’s first underwater rail tunnel has been completed. Full story...Bangladesh considers river tunnel plan
Bangladeshi authorities are looking at plans to build an ambitious tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River in south-east Bangladesh. Full story...Singapore tunnel contracts awarded
The first two civil contracts totalling US$379 million for Singapore's Downtown Line Stage 3 project have been awarded by the country’s Land Transport Authority Full story...Tunnel waste dumped in Florida wetlands
Spoil from the Port of Miami tunnel project in Florida has been dumped into a nearby wetlands Full story...
Hallandsås sees the light
Rodney Craig outlines the Hallandsås project’s history, some of the problems along the way and its progress to date Full story...
Bosporus road tunnel deadline switch
Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for Istanbul’s second sub-sea ‘Avrasya’ tunnel to be finished more than a year ahead of schedule. Full story...The future is Brightwater
Jack Burke reports on the Brightwater wastewater conveyance tunnel which, despite initial setbacks and technical issues, is now back on track Full story...Chengdu on track
Desiree Willis of The Robbins Company reports on the progress of the metro in Chengdu, China, where a recent record TBM breakthrough occurred Full story...Two major contract wins on India's Chennai metro
Metro Rail of Chennai, southeast India, recently awarded major construction contracts for the city’s new metro system. Full story...Brisbane Airport Link reaches halfway mark
Another milestone has been reached on Brisbane’s US$4.8 billion, twin-tunnel Airport Link project. Full story...Malta moots subsea tunnel to Gozo
Maltese officials have mooted plans to build a subsea tunnel between Malta and the neighbouring island of Gozo Full story...Another hydro win for Cavico
Cavico Hydropower Construction has signed a tunnel-building contract for the Song Giang 1 hydropower plant in central Vietnam. Full story...Consortium to electrify France to Spain
A consortium led by Eiffage and Dragados was recently awarded the contract to build an 8km high-voltage electricity tunnel linking France and Spain. Full story...Second Robbins TBM boring Malaysia tunnel
Robbins has announced that the second of a trio of 5.2m-diameter main-beam TBMs has started excavation work on Malaysia’s largest infrastructure project Full story...
TBM bores NZ outfall tunnel
M Dowler, J Cooper, T Ireland and M Frenke report on a flexible TBM that successfully took on challenging ground conditions Full story...
Cue Nick Barton
'Leaders' interview: Nick Barton is an internationally acclaimed tunnel engineer, known for devising the Q-system of rock classification Full story...
Rough ride for UK construction to continue
UK construction could continue to languish in the doldrums through 2011 and perhaps beyond, with a possible adverse knock-on effect on infrastructure spending. Full story...Major contracts awarded on Chennai metro
Metro Rail of Chennai, India, has recently awarded major contracts for the construction of underground works and tunnels for the city’s new metro system. Full story...Big Becky nearing the end at Niagara
Excellent excavation progress means that work on the third intake tunnel for the 1950s-built Adam Beck generating station in Ontario could be completed as early as April. Full story...Philanthropist offers to build tunnel
A Chinese billionaire wants to build an undersea rail tunnel to link China with Taiwan. Full story...WT names Project of the Year
Two of the world's most impressive tunnelling projects - one in the US, the other in Europe - have won top accolades in World Tunnelling's Project of the Year 2010. But which ones were they? Full story...Deep de-mucking in Abu Dhabi
Work has started on Abu Dhabi’s deep sewage tunnel system, part of the Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (STEP). Full story...Seli JV awarded Cityringen project
An all-Italian JV, headed by Rome-based SELI, has signed a contract with Denmark’s Metroselskabet for the construction of 34km of tunnel on Copenhagen’s Cityringen metro project. Full story...Move to save Beijing from gridlock
Chronic traffic congestion and increasing air pollution have led Beijing’s authorities to propose a series of huge tunnels to relieve the problem. Full story...Hindhead scoops Best in Class award
Being overbudget and late, with technical, health and safety, and environmental problems, is just some of the bad publicity that can accompany the opening of a new tunnel. But here is one that bucks the trend. Full story...Further delays to Amsterdam Metro opening
A further six-month delay is expected for work on Amsterdam’s new Noord-Zuid (North-South) metro line, taking the completion date to February 2018, at the earliest. Full story...Driving Chengdu's metros
Yang Hong Qiang, Zhao Bin and Bai Kun discuss the construction of Lines 1 and 2, identifying the tunnelling techniques and issues that are crucial to TBM selection Full story...Final breakthrough for Shiraz metro
Hamed Jamshidi and Hamed Moammeri detail the construction methods used on the Shiraz metro Full story...Robbins TBM exits Pinglu
Demonstrating that its workload in China shows no signs of abating, TBM-maker Robbins recently announced that one of its double-shield TBMs has finished boring China’s Pinglu tunnel Full story...Skanska wins London cable tunnels work
Skanska has been awarded a US$147 million contract to build 33km of power-transmission tunnels in London. The work will be undertaken for infrastructure contractor Costain, working on behalf of the National Grid. Full story...Breakthrough for Cavico on Vietnam hydro project
Vietnam-based infrastructure construction company Cavico recently announced that its subsidiary, Cavico Hydropower, had broken through on the main tunnel at the Dong Nai 4 hydropower project in Vietnam. Full story...MottMac appointed to Bangalore Metro
Mott MacDonald has announced its appointment by Continental Engineering Corporation (CEC) to provide technical consultancy services for the new East-West metro in Bangalore, India. Full story...Crossrail CEO to step down soon
Crossrail announced recently that chief executive Rob Holden has decided to step down from his position and will leave the company later this year. No reason was given for the decision other than Mr Holden’s desire to “explore new opportunities”. Full story...Thames Tunnel consultation ends
A Thames Water consultation designed to gauge public opinion on the construction of the Thames Tunnel ‘super sewer’ came to an end on January 14. Full story...Herrenknecht breaks another record
With TBM diameters increasing in size, it should come as no surprise to hear that Herrenknecht has once again broken the record for the largest diameter TBM ever built. Full story...
Reaching new heights
A hydro-electric project carving out a new powerhouse inside a Swiss mountain features a maze of drill and blasted tunnels Full story...
Headway on Seattle's waterfront tunnel
Good progress is at last being made on the replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. Full story...
Crossrail set to confirm contracts
Crossrail will soon confirm the awards of major contracts worth nearly US$2 billion for the cross-London urban metro scheme that involves 21km of 6m diameter, twin-bored, tunnels. Full story...Contract signed for Alaskan Way tunnel
Good progress is being made on the replacement for the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle, following the signing of a contract last week. Full story...Sochi tunnel conference ready to roll
The year's tunnel conference circuit gets underway next month with a major conference organised by the RTA and ITA-AITES in Sochi, Russia. Full story...Cavico Bridge and Tunnel in new contract win
Cavico Bridge and Tunnel signs contract for tunnelling works at Bac Coc Sau coal mine project in Vietnam. Full story...
World Tunnelling Project of the Year 2010 results
World Tunnelling has announced its Project of the Year for 2010. And the winner is…. Full story...
Copenhagen metro contract for Salini
Italian infrastructure construction company Salini Costruttori has been awarded the contract to build Copenhagen's 15.5km-long Cityringen circle line metro. Full story...Impregilo to build Abu Dhabi waste water tunnel
Italian infrastructure group Impregilo has won a US$200 million contract from the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company for the construction of a 10km stretch of wastewater tunnel. Full story...Copenhagen metro extension contract for Salini
Italian infrastructure construction company Salini Costruttori has been awarded the contract to build the 15.5km-long Cityringen circle line, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Full story...Project of the Year 2010 announced. The winner is...
It's been a good year for completed tunnel projects. With numerous contenders for the title, the winning Project 2010 is.... Full story...A dream come true
Jack Burke reports on the progress of the East Side Access project in New York, which is finally nearing a successful conclusion Full story...Connecting one-pass precast segmental linings
Christophe Delus, Bruno Jeanroy and David R. Klug give a short history of precast linings, the associated connectors used and review lining practices generally Full story...Malaysian water overhaul
A trio of Robbins TBMs will help bore one of Malaysia’s most crucial infrastructure projects through hard rock and high overburden. Desiree Willis reports Full story...Impregilo wins Abu Dhabi water tunnel
Italian infrastructure group Impregilo has won a US$200 million contract from the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company for the construction of a 10km stretch of wastewater tunnel. Full story...Taking abrasive action
Hamed Moammeri and Sadegh Tarigh Azali look at the abrasive effects on TBMs used to bore current or recently completed projects in Iran Full story...Seli TBM finishes excavating Brenner Base pilot tunnel
A 10.5km-long exploratory tunnel for the Brenner Base railway project in the Alps, which will link Austria and Italy, has been excavated. Full story...Three dams and a tunnel to aid India’s water shortage
The authorities in Mumbai, India, are planning to build a 43km-long tunnel to connect three new dams in a bid to increase the city’s water supply dramatically Full story...Bosporus funding in progress
Funding being sourced for a US$1.2 billion tunnel, proposed to run beneath the Bosporus in Turkey, should be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2011. Full story...Linea Uno consortium to build Panama city’s first metro line
The US$1.45 billion contract to build Panama city’s Line 1 metro has gone to the Linea Uno consortium. Full story...Arup in deep cable tunnels win
Infrastructure specialist Arup has been named programme manager by UK energy supplier National Grid for the delivery of two new, deep-cable tunnel systems in London. Full story...Skanska work on ARC suspended
Skanska was one of the first firms to announce the suspension of a contract as a result of the cancellation of the ARC Tunnel in the US. Full story...Seli scoops another Panama contract
TBM-maker Seli has won an engineer, procure and construct contract for the 3.24km headrace tunnel at the El Alto hydropower project in Panama. Full story...
Strabag scoops US$788m Koralm project
Austrian infrastructure and construction group Strabag has won the contract to build the US$788 million Koralm tunnel project, currently Austria’s largest-ever construction contract. Full story...
Vintage Robbins TBM bores hydro tunnel on Faroe Islands
A Robbins TBM that is over a quarter of a century old recently began excavating an 8.4km-long collector tunnel for a hydropower plant on Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. Full story...
Bangkok in line for anti-flood drainage tunnels
Giant drainage tunnels are under construction in Bangkok to protect the city from annual flooding. Full story...
Aker Wirth roadheader breaks through
An important milestone was recently reached on Brisbane’s Airport Link and Northern Busway tunnels when an Aker Wirth T3.20 roadheader broke through in the 490m-long Busway tunnel at Lutwyche. Full story...
Another Chinese metro start for Robbins
The first of two 6.3m tunnel boring machines (TBM) from US-based Robbins has begun excavation work on metro Line 1 in Zhengzhou, east central China Full story...Skanska announces ARC contract loss
Skanska is one of the first companies to announce the suspension of a contract as a result of the cancellation of the ARC Tunnel by New Jersey governor Chris Christie Full story...Seli in new Panamanian tunnel contract win
Seli has signed an engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contract in Panama for the construction of a 3.24km headrace tunnel at the El Alto hydropower facility Full story...New look for ITA website
The International Tunnelling Association has recently revamped its website which is now divided into two sections covering corporate and general information Full story...State-of-the-art concrete
Edwin Brady outlines some historic developments that have occurred in shotcrete application, with reference to two recent projects Full story...Robbins TBM to bore Chinese sub-sea tunnel
Robbins is to supply a new slurry TBM for a sub-sea tunnel in southern China that will form an important part of the country’s huge steel-making infrastructure Full story...Vietnam wins loan for Hanoi Line 3
Vietnam gained a US$101 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund the construction of phase one of Hanoi’s line 3 metro. Full story...Ground broken at Lee tunnel shaft
Construction has begun at Beckton, east London, on one of four 75m-deep shafts that will connect to a four mile sewer, which, when complete, will be the deepest tunnel ever built in London. Full story...On the brink
It has been a turbulent few weeks for the troubled ARC Tunnel, designed to link New Jersey (NJ) and Manhattan. Perhaps we should have sensed a bad omen when Governor Chris Christie recently threatened to divert funds from the project into other transport sectors. Full story...Seli set for double TBM success in Panama
Italian TBM manufacturer Seli has handed over a 3.92m-diameter EPB (mixed face) TBM for use on the 7.9km-long Monte Lirio headrace tunnel in west Panama Full story...
Historic breakthrough at Gottard
A historic breakthrough has occurred on the 57km-long Gottard Base Tunnel (GBT) in Switzerland Full story...
ARC Hudson tunnel cancelled...for now
Following a temporary halt to construction work on the ARC tunnel beneath the Hudson river, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has cancelled the project. Full story...Rising costs halt work on Hudson River tunnel
New Jersey has suspended work on the Hudson River tunnel due to concerns over cost overruns. Full story...Brisbane's Clem 7 tunnel hits trouble
Having opened in March to high hopes and great fanfare, Brisbane’s Clem 7 road tunnel looks as if it may be facing financial meltdown. Full story...Shetlanders seel new manager to drive tunnel project forward
It appears that moves for a tunnel between the Shetland Isles and Scotland might actually be gaining momentum with the announcement that Shetland Islands Council is to appoint a senior manager to drive the project forward. Full story...Hydro scheme for Lower Orange river
As part of a multi-billion dollar investment to boost power generation capacity, Namibian utility NamPower is proposing a 100MW run-of-river hydroelectric scheme on the Lower Orange river in the south of the country. Full story...Norway shows the way
Much debate in Norway has centred around its oil industry, but the recent blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico has served to focus more attention on sub-sea tunnelling for oil production. Full story...Victoria desalination tunnels underway
Construction has begun on tunnels that will help turn seawater into drinking water at Victoria’s desalination plant in Australia. Full story...'Super sewer' plans go public
Plans for London’s ‘super sewer’ are gathering pace with Thames Water’s launch of a 14-week public consultation on proposals for the Thames Tunnel, designed to greatly reduce sewage discharge into the River Thames. Full story...Spring start for Chennai metro
Tunnel excavation on Chennai’s metro rail project in India looks set to start by the first quarter of 2011. Full story...
Indian tunnel a safe option
Leighton India’s first tunnel in India is a challenging project in the Himalayas, comprising two 9km-long tunnels, excavated using drill and blast across multiple workfaces. By Douglas McPherson Full story...
Mixed bag for Robbins in India
A Robbins hybrid TBM will be used to excavate mixed ground in the arid central region of India for a new hydration scheme.Desiree Willis reports Full story...
Jacobs Engineering wins Hong Kong XRL contract
US-based infrastructure provider Jacobs Engineering Group has won a contract from the Highways Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to provide engineering services for the construction, Full story...
Academic and practical
A leading light in Norwegian tunnelling, Emeritus Professor Einar Broch has advised and lectured extensively around the world Full story...
First Hallandsås bore completed
Good news at last for the much-troubled Hallandsås project in Sweden. Last month, the Herrenknecht 10.6m-diameter TBM ‘Asa’ completed the excavation of the first of the two 5.5km-long railway tunnels for the joint venture comprising Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Skanska Full story...
Just 10m of drill and blast left on Gotthard Base Tunnel
Alp Transit has announced that there remain just 10m of drilling and blasting on the 57km-long Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) in Switzerland. Full story...Hudson tunnel funding woes continue
New Jersey officials are now considering diverting money from the troubled US$8.7 billion Hudson tunnel project to other transportation projects Full story...Transcity wins Brisbane Northern Link
Brisbane City Council has appointed the Transcity consortium to design, construct, operate and maintain the US$1.5 billion Northern Link Tunnel. Full story...Bilfinger Berger completes early in Düsseldorf
Bilfinger Berger has completed the first tunnel section on Düsseldorf’s urban rail line one month ahead of schedule. Full story...Breakthrough on Phase 1 of Budapest’s Line 4 metro
Both Herrenknecht EPB TBMs mining Phase 1 of the US$1 billion Line 4 of the Budapest metro have broken through at the strategic Keleti station, thereby completing the two running tunnels for the Phase 1 stretch of line from Kelenfold to Keleti. Full story...MTR awards XRL tunnel contract to Leighton/Gammon JV
Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation has awarded a US$360 million rail infrastructure project to a JV that comprises Leighton Asia and Gammon Construction. Full story...Shell awaiting sea tunnel decision
Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL), a division of oil giant Shell, is currently awaiting the outcome of a planning application lodged recently for the construction of a tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay in western Ireland. Full story...Four Lovat TBMs for Metrolinx LRT
Metrolinx, formerly known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, has signed a US$52 million contract with Lovat for the supply of four TBMs for use on the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) project. Full story...Aker Wirth bores biggest incline
An Aker Wirth TBM will excavate what has been claimed to be the largest diameter tunnel ever attempted on an incline. Full story...Green, getting greener
George Demetri on recent advances in tunnel sustainability, particularly in the use of aggregates and sprayed concrete linings. Full story...Murphy wins Kent tunnel contract
UK-based J Murphy & Sons has been appointed by the Volker-Fitzpatrick Hochtief JV to work on a US$1.9 million project that involves the design of two pilot tunnels for a new section of motorway in East Kent, England. Full story...
Robbins main beam chosen for Pallisades
PTP Constructors, a joint venture of Schiavone, Shea and Skanska, has selected a Robbins machine to excavate the Pallisade tunnels, which form the New Jersey portion of the ARC project linking New Jersey with Manhattan. Full story...
Playing a defining role
Rick Staples, president of the Tunnelling Association of Canada, has played a defining part in organising the successful World Tunnel Congress in Vancouver last May. Here he reveals more about his career and other topical tunnel themes. Full story...A more measured impression
Letter to the Editor Full story...
Gotthard closing, Ceneri advancing
The Gotthard and Ceneri Base tunnels in Switzerland will create a 'flat' route through the Alps. Dr Renzo Simoni, CEO of Alp Transit Gotthard, reports Full story...Tunnel Alerts
Tunnel Alerts is a new feature that aims to bring you breaking news of tunnel contracts globally. Full story...
Safer subterranean Singapore
LJ Pakianathan (Mott MacDonald Singapore), S McChesney (Land Transport Authority) and M Mannot-Russell (CH2M) report on recent safety legislation in Singapore Full story...Change of heart over Doha tunnel
A planned US$1 billion subsea tunnel beneath Doha Bay in Qatar could be replaced by a bridge if the oil/gas-rich Gulf state approves plans for an alternative fixed link Full story...SELI/Kawasaki link
Japanese conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries has entered into a five-year collaboration agreement with Italian TBM-maker SELI Full story...Leighton India wins tunnel
Leighton India has been awarded a contract to build and operate what has been hailed as one of the longest road tunnels in Asia Full story...FCC wins major rail and tunnel contract in Algeria
Spanish infrastructure specialist FCC, in a joint venture with Algerian firm ETRHB Haddad, has won a US$1.23 billion contract to build a railway line with major tunnels in Algeria Full story...Tehran metro set for further growth
The Tehran metro, one of the Middle East’s largest transit systems, is expected to experience even greater growth. Full story...Tunnel mooted for Nicosia
The Government of Cyprus is looking at the construction of a 1.7km-long tunnel beneath Nicosia that would relieve the capital’s severe rush-hour congestion Full story...Eight vie over Baghdad metro contract
Eight foreign firms have been shortlisted as possible contenders for Baghdad’s long-awaited US$3 billion metro scheme. Full story...Breaking ground in Barcelona
An NFM Technologies tunnelling machine recently broke through on Line 9 of the Barcelona metro Full story...First tunnel breakthrough in Melbourne
Lucy Loo, a 100m-long TBM that has been excavating a new US$194 million replacement sewer tunnel under Port Melbourne for 10 months, recently broke through into the access shaft at Swallow Street Full story...Herrenknecht begins production on record-breaking TBM
The largest TBM ever is being prepared for the excavation of the Sparvo tunnel on the A1 highway extension between Bologna and Florence in Italy Full story...Robbins in record advance at Niagara
Robbins has announced that its 14.4m-diameter main-beam TBM – the world’s largest hard-rock machine – has completed more than two-thirds of the headrace tunnel beneath Niagara Falls Full story...Mining for Oil
Given the recent Deepwater Horizon drilling rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it might be time to look at other safer, more sustainable methods for extracting oil - such as tunnelling. Full story...
Lovat TBM breakthrough imminent at Brightwater
‘Elizabeth’, the Lovat RME184SE EPB TBM, is expected to achieve an imminent breakthrough at the Ballinger Way retrieval shaft at the end of its 6.4km bore on the Brightwater 4 (BT 4) tunnel contract in the US Full story...NSW government unveils infrastructure masterplan
The Government of New South Wales in Australia is to invest US$5.9 billion in transport infrastructure from its 2010-11 budget, as part of an overall 10-year, US$42.5 billion Metropolitan Transport Plan Full story...Bouygues wins HK tunnel contract
Dragages Hong Kong, subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, has signed a US$446 million contract for the construction of two parallel, single-track tunnels, each 3.5km long, in Hong Kong. Full story...
Tunnel for Germany-Denmark link?
The proposal for a tunnel for the Fehmarnbelt crossing between Germany and Denmark looks set to be brought back into the frame, following a re-evaluation by two sets of consultant consortia. Full story...
Work stops on third Lake Mead intake
Eight foreign firms have been shortlisted as possible contenders for Baghdad’s long-awaited US$3 billion metro scheme Full story...
Work begins on Doha airport station
Mott MacDonald’s design role on the New Doha International Airport Terminal metro station has come to fruition as construction started on the first underground metro station in Qatar Full story...
Bouygues wins Hong Kong rail contract
Bouygues Construction has signed a US$450 million contract for the construction of a stretch of the MTRC Express Rail Link between Hong Kong and Guangdong Full story...
Success at East Side Access project
On June 2, a Robbins TBM was the first of two machines to finish a series of short rail tunnels below Manhattan’s Grand Central Station Full story...
Breakthrough under Port Melbourne
The first tunnel breakthrough has been achieved on a US$220 million project to replace a century-old sewer pipeline under Melbourne’s inner suburbs Full story...
DART Underground seeks railway order
CIÉ took a significant step towards delivery of the DART Underground rail project on June 30, when the group lodged a formal application for planning approval Full story...
Herrenknecht's record breaking TBM
Herrenknecht is developing and building an Earth Pressure Balance Shield with a diameter of 15.5m which will be ready to start work on the A1 highway extension between Bologna and Florence in 2011 Full story...
Work begins on Bangalore metro
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corp has begun preparatory work to commence tunnelling for the underground corridor at Minsk Square Full story...
TBM in place at Brisbane airport link
Premier Anna Bligh joined Brisbane’s Airport Link project team on May 27, to witness the lowering of Australia's largest TBM cutterhead into the ground at Kalinga Park Full story...NFM breaks through on Barcelona metro
The NFM Technologies TBM charged with excavating line 9 of the Barcelona metro has made its breakthrough of the section, using the hard rock cutter head fitted at the beginning of 2010 Full story...
In perfect alignment
San Francisco-based Dr Glenn Boyce of Jacobs Associates outlines some of the considerations required to achieve successful segment design Full story...
A career rich in variety
Toronto-based Boro Lukajic has contributed extensively to both Canadian and international tunnelling. He was president of the Tunnelling Association of Canada from 1993-98 Full story...
Subway to the future
Jack Burke and Jim Rostek of S3II Tunnel Constructors report on the extension to New York’s 7 Subway Line Full story...
All booked up
The North American Tunnelling 2010 (NAT) conference and exhibition arrives in Portland, US, on June 20-23. WT looks at some of the exhibitors Full story...RETC 2011 call for papers
A call for papers has been issued by the committee organising RETC 2011 (the Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference), which will be held in San Francisco, US on June 19-22. Full story...Cavico wins US$11m Song Bac contract
Vietnam-based infrastructure provider Cavico has signed a deal to build tunnels at a Vietnamese hydropower plant located northwest of Hanoi. Full story...
Rescue chambers help workers flee fire
A fire recently broke out on a TBM being used to excavate the third hydro tunnel under Niagara Falls City in Ontario, Canada. Full story...Brisbane Northern Link tunnel gets green light
A proposed US$1.5 billion road tunnel linking Brisbane’s northern and western suburbs has received conditional approval from the Government of Queensland. Full story...Crossrail in the balance
The UK has a new coalition government but will cuts needed to reduce the country's gargantuan budget deficit mean postponement for Crossrail? Full story...Seattle mayor issues cost overrun warning
Problems have surfaced despite a recent agreement between the State of Washington and the City of Seattle to replace the ageing Alaskan Way viaduct with a bored tunnel. Full story...Seattle light rail tunnel boosted by local council
Seattle's Bellevue City Council has committed US$150 million dollars for the construction of a light rail tunnel through the downtown areas of the city. Full story...Pöyry wins contract on Mexican wastewater tunnel
Pöyry has won a US$8 million contract from Mexico’s Conagua to provide advisory services during the construction of Emisor Oriente, Mexico City’s 62km wastewater tunnel. Full story...Sao Paulo wins US$650m World Bank loan
Traffic-choked Sao Paolo, Brazil, has been recently approved for a US$650 million loan from the World Bank to extend its metro Line 5. Full story...Strabag wins Swiss tunnel project
European construction group Strabag has won a US$77 million contract for the construction of the Küblis bypass tunnel in Switzerland Full story...
Robbins TBMs kick off Xian metro tunnels
Xian is one of China’s most ancient cities, but it is about to enter the 21st Century with the excavation of Lot 12 of its Metro Line 1. Full story...
Blast-driving Ceneri tunnels begins while Gothard work continues
Blasting work to drive the main Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT) began recently with a ceremonial first blast in the installations cavern at Sigirino. Full story...
Lunar tech to revolutionise tunnel navigation?
A new positioning and locating system to be launched in the autumn, devised primarily for mining, could revolutionise tunnel navigation, whether operators are using TBM or drill and blast. Full story...
Key section of NY water tunnel completed
New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced the completion of a key phase of work on the Manhattan section of City Water Tunnel No.3 (CWT3). Full story...
Robbins EPBs go underground in China
Robbins has announced that the first of two 6.2m diameter EPB machines, delivered to Xi’an Metro’s Line 1 project in China, was successfully launched on April 28. Full story...
São Paulo Metro gets the go ahead
The World Bank has approved a US$130 million loan to support the second phase of the São Paulo Metro Line 4 project, which will improve public transportation and ease traffic congestion in the city. Full story...
Sandvik- MEYCO agreement update
In September 2009, BASF’s unit MEYCO Equipment and Sandvik Mining and Construction signed an agreement on a global cooperation in the field of tunnelling and mining. Full story...GIA engaged on Hong Kong tunnel
Work has started on Hong Kong’s West Drainage Tunnel to avoid flooding; helping the effort are three GIA Häggloaders and three locomotives. Full story...NFM sends two TBMs to Seville
Two NFM 14m diameter EPB TBMs will help bore part of a new ring road project in Seville, Spain, following the signing of twp supply contracts between French TBM-maker NFM and two Spanish groups. Full story...JV drops out of Seattle running
Vinci Traylor Skanska, one of the JVs vying to construct the tunnel to replace the decrepit 1953 Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, US, has dropped out of the running. Full story...Second TBM arrives for Brisbane's Airport Link
Three container shipments from Germany were all it took to deliver a 3,600t TBM to Brisbane for use on the city’s Airport Link tunnel project. Full story...Robbins TBM a first for Laos as hydro project starts
Tunnel workers in Laos, SE Asia, recently witnessed the launch of the country’s first-ever tunnel boring machine which will excavate a new hydroelectric tunnel for the Theun Hinboun Expansion Project. Full story...Cross River Rail line receives boost
Australia’s Queensland Government has released details of a proposed north-south rail line running through the centre of Brisbane, which will include an under-river tunnel and new underground stations Full story...
Herrenknecht's hard bore
The recently opened Clem Jones tunnel is Brisbane’s first major road tunnel and links a complex system of motorways north and south of the city. It has been bored through hard rock. Herrenknecht’s Dr Karin Bäppler reports Full story...
EPBs cover more ground
Desiree Willis and Shinichi Konda of The Robbins Company detail the latest improvements in EPB TBM design, highlighting recent examples of their use Full story...Tunnel boom in Toronto
Brian Garrod gives a rundown of the diverse range of tunnels currently planned or under construction in Greater Toronto. Full story...BAM Nuttall begins Glendoe remediation
BAM Nuttall has been awarded the remedial work at the US$247 million Glendoe hydro power station in Scotland. Full story...
WTC on track again
The annual World Tunnel Congress (WTC) opens its doors this year in Vancouver, Canada, on May 14-20. Here follows a selection of the companies exhibiting Full story...New contractor set to resume halted work on Brightwater BT3
Following its suspension in May 2009, due to serious damage incurred by a TBM, work on the Brightwater conveyance tunnel in King County, Washington, looks set to resume Full story...
Ontario sewer tackles rocky ground
Murray Malott and Chris Banks of Canada-based McNally Construction describe the construction of a sewer tunnel involving numerous shafts and boulder-laden ground Full story...
Indo-Russian JV scoops Kolkatta metro deal
AFCONS, in a joint venture with Transtonnelstroy, has recently won a US$211 million project from the Kolkata Metro Corporation. Full story...
Brightwater tunnel- back on track
Efforts to complete construction on a stalled portion of the Brightwater tunnelling project in King County, Washington, US have moved forward with the signing of a new tunnelling contractor on April 5. Full story...
New Crystal Springs excavation complete
Jacobs Associates has reported that on March 24, the TBM for the New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel reached its termination of excavation at the base of the completed North Shaft Full story...
Milestone reached at Brisbane airport link
The Queensland government has announced that one quarter of the tunnelling work has now been completed on the US$4.4 billion Airport Link project. Full story...
Pahang-Selangor tunnel gets going
The US$2.8 billion interstate raw-water transfer project from Pahang to Selangor in Malaysia officially began on April 6, with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang. Full story...
Robbins TBM launches in Laos
In February 2010, contractor CMC Di Ravenna oversaw the launch of the first TBM to excavate in Laos. The 7.6m diameter Robbins Single Shield TBM is digging a new hydroelectric tunnel for the Theun Hinboun expansion project Full story...
Tunnelling academy gets funding boost
The UK Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has given approval to £5 million funding for a Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in Ilford, London Full story...
Midland Metro extension gets the go ahead
The UK Department for Transport has given initial approval to the £127.1m Midland Metro scheme, which will link the existing Line to Birmingham New Street Station and deliver improvements to the tram carriages Full story...
Double celebration for Lovat
The FCC, OHL and COPISA joint venture has announced that one of two Lovat TBMs used in the construction of the Terrassa Railways tunnel project in Spain has broken through, completing its 3.7km drive Full story...
Afcons bags Kolkata metro contract
Afcons Infrastructure has won a US$206 million contract from Kolkata Metro Railway Corp to build a critical stretch of the Kolkata East-West Metro line Full story...What, where, when, why and who?
It's good to get feedback from readers, so I was heartened to hear from an eminent and well-known tunnelling author (see p10-11), responding to a point from the last roundtable. Full story...
Latin crossings
South America is seeing a tunnelling boom, including metro, road, stormwater, hydro and mining tunnels, writes Dean Brox Full story...
Bogong hydro scheme goes online
Paul Thomas and Jimmy Molea of McConnell Dowell highlight the tunnelling components of Australia’s largest hydropower project for 25 years Full story...First Crossrail tunnel contract awarded
A joint venture comprising Costain and Skanska has been awarded a US$22.7 million contract by Crossrail. Full story...Morgan Est in contract win
UK-based infrastructure specialist Morgan Est has notched-up a US$6 million contract for the manufacture and supply of a total of 5,420 tapered trapezoidal tunnel rings for a major UK sewer project. Full story...Herrenknecht deal on Abu Dhabi plant
German TBM-specialist Herrenknecht has entered into a US$6.8 million joint venture (JV) agreement with Aabar Investments for the assembly and manufacture of tunnel boring machinery and equipment in the UAE. Full story...'Challenges for German tunnelling'
Tunnel construction in Germany will face major challenges in 2010, according to STUVA chairman and board member Edgar Schömig. Full story...Crossrail expressions of interest invited
Expressions of interest have been invited for the third and final running tunnel contract for Crossrail. Full story...
Working on Mexico's Emisor Oriente entrance
Employees from Conagua, Mexico’s national water body, at work on the entrance to the Emisor Oriente drainage tunnel in Mexico City. Full story...
Halcrow wins ‘milestone’ Hong Kong tunnel job
UK-based infrastructure designer Halcrow has announced that it has won the detailed design for a ‘milestone’ tunnel project in Hong Kong. Full story...Hochtief subsidiaries win Prague metro extension
German infrastructure development company Hochtief has announced it has won a contract to extend Line A of the Prague metro. Full story...
Your ITA needs you
The recent WT Roundtable raised serious questions about the function of the International Tunnelling Association (ITA). Here is an edited transcript of the debate Full story...
Mexican TBMs roll off global assembly line
TBM manufacturing is becoming a truly global affair. George Demetri reports on a project in Texas which brings together a world-wide manufacturing and shipping effort Full story...
The big fair with the best ware
With Bauma just around the corner on April 19-25 at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Munich, Germany, we take a look at selected exhibitors from the tunnelling sector Full story...
Free as a bird
A geologist and civil engineer by training, Boston area-based geoconsultant Dr Peter J Tarkoy is a controversial and self-styled visionary in the tunnelling industry. He talks to George Demetri Full story...
Robbins TBM turns Mexican heads
Following an official cutter-turning ceremony in January, the largest TBM ever seen in Mexico began excavating the 7.7km tunnel for Mexico City’s Line 12 metro. Full story...UK tunnel/shaft lining spec nears
British Precast, the trade body for the UK concrete products industry, has started preparing a new specification for precast tunnel and shaft linings. Full story...New blood needed
WT's roundtable event held in Hamburg in November threw up some interesting questions, one of which was how to attract young new recruits into the industry. Full story...
Master of all he surveys
For more than a decade, Manfred Messing has headed-up tunnel guidance and surveying instrumentation company VMT. He talks to George Demetri Full story...
World Tunnelling Industry Leaders' Round Table
Welcome to the second World Tunnelling roundtable. We invited some of the top minds in international tunnelling from engineering consultancy, contractors and equipment manufacturers to meet last year in Hamburg on November 30 – the eve of STUVA – to discuss some of the most talked about issues in tunnelling. It turned out to be a memorable discussion. Full story...Partners picked to deliver Lee Tunnel
Joint-venture partners Morgan Est, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche (MVB) – three of the UK’s leading civil-engineering contractors – have been named as the preferred partners to deliver the Lee Tunnel in East London for Thames Water. Full story...Cavico announces breakthroughs
Vietnam-based infrastructure development firm Cavico has announced that its subsidiaries, Cavico Mining and Cavico Power and Resource Construction (CPRC), have broken through at two major tunnel projects. Full story...
Trio of firms bid for Brisbane's Northern Link
Northern Direct, Transcity and a joint-venture comprising Leighton, Baulderstone and Razel, are the three companies chosen to bid for Brisbane’s US$1.84 billion Northern Link twin-tube road tunnel. Bids must be submitted by May. Full story...Contract awards mark first step in Hudson river tunnel construction
NJ Transit’s US$8.7 billion Mass Transit Tunnel – the rail project designed to double commuter capacity between New York and New Jersey – has got off the starting blocks with the recent approval of the first two of three tunnelling contracts. Full story...
Robbins EPB sets record and installs innovative PVC liner
Having recently broken through ahead of time on a 5.7km-long sewer tunnel in Sacramento, US, a Robbins TBM is claimed to have achieved rates of up to 210m/wk, which, claims the company, sets new standards for progress in soft ground tunnelling. Full story...AECOM wins US$20m Canadian rail job
AECOM Technology Corporation recently announced that it has been awarded a US$20 million contract to provide programme management services for the extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system in Edmonton, Canada Full story...Shortlisted bids for Crossrail tunnels revealed
Five JVs have been featured on the recently published shortlist of bidders for two of the main tunnelling contracts for Crossrail. Full story...Four teams for Alaskan Way job
Washington State Department of Transportation has listed four consortia on its website with an interest in the SR99 Bored Tunnel Design Build project,also known as the replacement tunnel for the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, US Full story...Iranian TBMs continue steady march
Hamed Moammeri (Amberg, Iran) and Reza Ghaffarzadeh (Panah Saz Alvand Engineering) outline some recently completed TBM projects in Iran Full story...New CEO at Parsons Brinckerhoff
Parsons Brinckerhoff has appointed George J Pierson as chief executive officer, effective on January 1, 2010. He is currently president and COO of the firm’s Americas division, and succeeds Keith J Hawksworth, who becomes chairman Full story...Herrenknecht in German-Chinese trade event
Germany-based TBM-maker Herrenknecht recently participated in the German-Chinese ‘esplanade event’ held recently in the city of Wuhan, China Full story...A man for all seasons
San Francisco-based Dr Glenn Boyce, senior associate at Jacobs Associates, is one of few engineers to specialise in tunnelling and trenchlesss. By George Demetri Full story...STUVA bangs the drum for safe tunnelling
STUVA organisers have expressed satisfaction at the success of their recent tunnelling event in Hamburg, Germany, on 1-3 December Full story...Three JVs commence battle for Sydney Metro Stage 1
Sydney Metro has received tenders from three international consortia bidding for the right to build the tunnels and station caverns on Metro Stage 1 Full story...Lovat sells system
Lovat has sold a new hard-rock cutting head and main-drive system to The Kassouf Company for use on Fairfax Water’s Corbalis to Fox Mill Water Main Project 1859 Division 4 in Fairfax, Virginia, US Full story...Tunnel talks between Chile and Argentina bear fruit
A recent agreement between Chile and Argentina could result in the construction of a series of road and rail tunnels across their common border. Full story...Breakthrough for first Lovat TBM at Terrassa
One of two Lovat TBMs has achieved breakthrough after completing its first drive on the current phase of the Terrassa Railways Project in Terrassa, Spain. Full story...ALS shifts TBM from Canada to Buenos Aires
UK-based Abnormal Load Services (ALS) recently transported a 7.8m-diameter Lovat soft-ground EPB TBM plus back-up system from Canada to Argentina Full story...Brisbane looks down under for transport improvements
Proposals for an underground rail network to be built in Brisbane, Australia, form part of sweeping plans to modernise public transport in the city, which were unveiled recently by the Queensland State Government. Full story...
Robbins' TBM trio head to Malaysia
Robbins is to supply three 5.2m-diameter, main-beam TBMs for use on Malaysia’s Pahang-Selangor Raw Water tunnel Full story...
Keeping Kentucky clean
Jack Burke looks at a sewage tunnel project in Kentucky, US, designed to improve local water quality and increase storage capacity Full story...University rail link to go ahead
Sound Transit’s plan to build the University Link light rail extension in Seattle now looks certain to go ahead, following a decision by ST’s board of directors to proceed with the project Full story...InnoTrans organiser claims healthy bookings for 2010 exhibition
Display space at the rail-transport-technology fair InnoTrans 2010 is almost all booked up, according to organizer Berlin-based Messe Berlin Full story...NFM reveals nuclear capability
NFM Technologies does more than just make tunnel boring machines, it seems. The French-based manufacturer has designed and manufactured handling equipment that will be used to load and unload M51 intercontinental ballistic missiles (IBM) onto French nuclear submarines Full story...Chengdu contract bears fruit for Robbins
A commissioning ceremony for a 6.26m-diameter TBM was held by US-based The Robbins Company in Chengdu, China, last month Full story...Koralm phase two bids invited
Austrian Federal Railways is expected this month to invite bids for the construction of Phase 2 of the US$3.5 billion Koralm tunnel Full story...Bouygues triumphs in Miami
France’s Bouygues Travaux Publics has won a US$656 million contract to build the long-awaited Port of Miami tunnel in Florida, US Full story...MorganEst lowers TBM into Barry shaft.
UK infrastructure provider Morgan Est recently lowered an 18t Iseki Unclemole TBM into a shaft in Barry, near Cardiff, Wales Full story...Making a difference
Born in the Netherlands, Hans Greve is executive vice-president of mining & construction at TBM-maker Aker Wirth. He spoke to George Demetri about his achievements and aspirations Full story...
Tsurumi pumps up Bosphorus
Tsurumi Pump, a Japanese manufacturer of pumps and generators, has supplied 90 pumps, including 40 of its LSC ‘Puddle Sucker’ models and 50 KRS and KTZ units, to contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff for work on the US$3 billion Marmaray project in Istanbul, Turkey Full story...Liebherr crane conveyor handles hoisting
Liebherr has developed the KFA Crane Conveying System for the Machine Technology Service Centre in Germany, operated by Bilfinger Berger, to handle hoisting during tunnel projects Full story...Compact Cat roars ahead
A dedicated tunnel-constructor version of the Caterpillar 328D LCR compact radius excavator is proving highly productive at the A9 Autoroute project in Switzerland Full story...
World's biggest tunnel project ends
Imagine cities without cars, where carcinogenic dust and noise are confined to below ground and city parks form the refreshing, clean oases that they are meant to be Full story...Equity partners sought for Bosporus
The Korean-Turkish consortium that will build and operate the US$1 billion Bosporus road tunnel is seeking new capital from interested parties. Full story...Alpine surfaces at Delhi airport
After ten months of tunnelling, Alpine, the second biggest construction group in Austria and part of the FCC Group, has announced that it has competed the final breakthrough on the Airport Metro Express Line in New Delhi. Full story...HCC to build NE India hydro plant
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has secured a US$59 million contract from the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for the construction of Pare Hydro Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. Full story...Civils 2009 ready to roll
On November 25-26, Earls Court 2 in London, UK, opens its doors for the Civils show, hailed as the UK’s definitive civil engineering showcase comprising manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and consultants from all areas of the industry. Full story...US$1.6bn EIB loan boosts Crossrail
The importance of London’s Crossrail scheme has been affirmed by the recent agreement between Transport for London (TfL) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a US$1.6 billion loan to finance part of TfL’s contribution to the scheme. Full story...More education please - CSM-style
Three days at the Colorado School of Mines have impressed George Demetri. Full story...Herrenknecht crosses under Yangtze
Herrenknecht recently announced that two of its mixshield TBMs, each with a diameter of 14.93m, have crossed beneath the Yangtze River to reach Nanjing after bores of almost 3km. Full story...Impregilo scoops US$243m Abu Dhabi tunnel contract
Italy’s largest construction firm Impregilo has won a US$243m contract to build a waste water tunnel in Abu Dhabi as part of plans to upgrade the capital’s infrastructure. Full story...Tyne and Tyne again
A new tunnel utilising immersed tube and cut and cover technology is being constructed in North East England to augment the existing road tunnel beneath the River Tyne. George Demetri visited the site to assess progress. Full story...Seven TBMs in 15 months
Geoff Archer, business development manager of Melbourne-based John Holland Tunnelling, reports on current and recently completed water and sewer projects in Melbourne and Sydney Full story...Tunnellling for Gold
Constructing a dewatering tunnel at one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines saw Papua New Guinea’s first use of a TBM under inhospitable and difficult transport conditions. Desiree Willis of The Robbins Company reports. Full story...Continental to join Joy
Continental Crushing and Conveying, the UK-based manufacturer of belt conveyor systems and belt conveyor components, is being integrated into Joy Mining Machinery (JMM) Full story...LTA awards two Downtown Line contracts
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded contracts C913 and C920 for stage 2 of the Downtown Line (DTL2), together worth a total of around US$545 million Full story...Black & Veatch wins design deal for Chicago reservoir tunnel
Global engineering consultancy Black and Veatch has been selected by the US Army Corps of Engineers as design engineer for the McCook Reservoir Main Tunnel in Chicago Full story...BASF TBM conference announced
BASF Construction Chemicals, a supplier of underground construction technical solutions, has confirmed that its annual TBM conference will be held this year in Singapore on November 5-6 Full story...Tentative start to Sydney's West Metro project
Rock and soil testing on Sydney’s West Metro route began last month in preparation for tunnelling, despite uncertainty as to where exactly US$7 billion of funding will come from for the 24km-long underground rail route Full story...Qingdao approves subway spend
China’s picturesque coastal city of Qingdao (TsingTao) is to build a 54.7km subway line across the city, following the approval of a US$4.2billion plan that is scheduled for completion around 2016 Full story...NFM in Cairo Line 3 deal
French TBM manufacturer NFM Technologies has signed a contract for the supply of a 9.46m-diameter EPB tunnel boring machine for the second phase of Line 3 of the Cairo Metro Full story...London-based JV prepares bid
Competition is heating up for Crossrail contracts – the east-west London rail line that will include around 21km of tunnel under central London Full story...Lone TBM from Robbins battles on in Sino water tunnel
China’s Pinglu tunnel, which is part of the ambitious Yellow River Water Diversion Project, has seen the installation of its 15,000th ring Full story...Expressions of interest invited on two key tunnelling contracts
Expressions of interest for two principal tunnel contracts totalling 18km on London's Crossrail have been invited through notices published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Full story...Mott MacDonald wins US$16 million design packages
Design contracts totalling US$16 million have been awarded to the Mott MacDonald engineering consultancy for the development of London’s Crossrail project, the east-west rail project running through London that is one of the world’s biggest and most complex Full story...Blocked tunnel forces power station closure
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has stopped power generation at the recently opened Glendoe Hydro power plant in Scotland following internal rockfalls that have partly blocked the top of the headrace tunnel carrying water from the reservoir to the power station Full story...Lovat TBMs to excavate York, Ontario sewer
Lovat will supply four of its RME 142SE EPB mixed-face TBM’s to the regional municipality of York, Ontario, Canada, for use on the construction of the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer (SeC) Full story...Breakthrough on London mains extension
Morgan Est, one of the UK’s leading infrastructure specialists, has broken through on the US$63 million extension of London’s Thames Water Ring Main Full story...Cavico to build hydro tunnel
Hanoi-based infrastructure company Cavico and its joint venture partners General Construction and Infrastructure Development Company and Song Da Corporation have signed a US$16 million contract with Dakdrinh Hydropower Company for the construction of a water tunnel at a hydro-power plant in central Vietnam Full story...Are you ready for 2010?
Starting in January 2010, World Tunnelling will be giving its readers the chance to promote their tunnel projects in our ‘Project 2010’ feature. Projects can be recently completed or near completion Full story...Breakthrough marks end of Circle Line tunnelling
Following a TBM-breakthrough on August 17, tunnelling work on Singapore’s 33.3km-long Circle Line has been completed after seven and a half years and a tragic collapse in 2004 Full story...A steady progress
Mining engineer Lok Home has progressed from mine development project manager, through field service, international sales and finally to president and owner of TBM-maker The Robbins Company. He spoke to George Demetri about his career, the outlook for tunnelling and TBM developments in general Full story...All in a year's work
Jack Burke visited the South Cobb Tunnel Project and was impressed by the site’s productivity and safety record Full story...
Tyne Tunnel dredging passes environmental test
The UK’s Environment Agency has given the go ahead for the dredging of the River Tyne in northeast England for the construction of the second Tyne Tunnel (TT2) to start on September 26 Full story...
Expressions of interest invited on two key Crossrail tunnel contracts
Expressions of interest for two principal tunnelling contracts totalling 18km on London’s Crossrail have been invited through notices published in the Official Journal of the European Union Full story...Contract signed for Cairo metro 3
VINCI Construction Grands Projets has announced that it has recently signed a contract, as consortium leader, with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) for the civil engineering works package of Cairo’s metro Line 3. Full story...Thames Tideway boreholes sunk
Boreholes have been sunk into the river Thames to probe ground conditions that lie along the alignment of the proposed Thames Tunnel. Full story...Robbins TBM completes first leg of sewer tunnel
Good progress is reported on Melbourne’s Northern Sewerage Project, involving a series of deep sewer tunnels designed to reduce the city’s propensity for huge wastewater overflows. Full story...Herrenknecht breakthrough
Herrenknecht announced recently that one of its TBMs has broken through six months ahead of schedule on the Erstfield-Amsteg leg of the eastern tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel(GBT) project in Switzerland. Full story...Lovat makes headway
Seattle’s Brightwater Conveyance System (West tunnel construction) is making excellent progress, according to recent reports from the Jay Dee, Coluccio, Taisei JV. Full story...Deadline extended for Prague 2010
The deadline for receipt of abstracts for the Underground Constructions Prague 2010 conference has been extended to September 15. Full story...Dhaka seeks Chinese aid for river tunnel
Bangladesh is seeking Chinese support for the construction of a tunnel running underneath the Karnaphuli river. Full story...NFM launches Kazan-bound TBM
NFM Technologies will transport a 5.89m diameter Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) tunnelling machine for use on the westward extension of Kazan’s Line 1 in the Russian Federation. Full story...Thessaloniki metro benefits from EIB loan
Thessaloniki, Greece, has seen its much-awaited metro system take a further step to fruition following the recent approval of a €250 million (US$353.6 million) European Investment Bank loan. Full story...
Family presence ends at Lovat
Having purchased TBM-maker Lovat just over a year ago, Caterpillar announced recently that both Lovats – father and son – have voluntarily left the company. Full story...Golden short course ready for take-off at CSM
‘Breakthroughs in Tunnelling’ is a three-day short course (September 23-25 2009) to be held at the Colorado School of Mines, US. Full story...Jacobs sub wins Chinese rail-link contract
A subsidiary company of Jacobs Engineering Group has won a US$3 million contract to provide engineering services for the design and site investigation phase of the US$5 billion Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL). Full story...Jacobs sub wins Chinese rail-link contract
A subsidiary company of Jacobs Engineering Group has won a US$3 million contract to provide engineering services for the design and site investigation phase of the US$5 billion Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL). Full story...A ringside view
Steve Skelhorn and Laura McNally of Canadian contractor McNally Construction look at the evolution and design of segmental lining systems in a technical paper first presented at RETC in June. Full story...Health and safety underground
Martin Vogel of Suva digests the lessons learnt from the Alp Transit projects in Switzerland and proposes a pragmatic safety management system designed to ensure increased health and safety on tunnel projects. Full story...Uetliberg premieres new boring extender
S Maurhofer, overall project manager and director of the tunnelling division at Swiss-based Amberg Engineering, describes the excavation of the recently opened Uetliberg tunnel in Switzerland, which included the use of a tunnel boring extender. Full story...Staffing in difficult times
A tunnel engineer for over 40 years, Barrie Willis has worked mainly on major international projects, including the UK’s twin Mersey tunnels, before taking up his post managing the tunnel department at Netherlands-based personnel supplier IPS Group. Full story..."Avant-garde" proposal
Chilean architects have proposed the construction of a 150km tunnel from landlocked Bolivia to an artificial island in the Pacific Ocean. Full story...Federal support for New Jersey ARC tunnel
President Obama has designated US$200 million towards the construction of the ARC Mass Transit Tunnel in New Jersey. Full story...RETC to rendezvous in Vegas
Held bi-annually in North America, the Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference (RETC) will be held in Las Vegas this month, covering every aspect of tunnel design and construction. George Demetri takes a selective look at what will be on offer. Full story...Morgan Est finishes National Grid work at Croydon
UK infrastructure firm Morgan Est has announced the breakthrough at its 10km, US$98.3 million Croydon electricity tunnel for National Grid. Full story...Robbins aids Baku irrigation project
Robbins has completed the assembly of an EPBM machine in Guangzhou, China, for use at the Samur-Apsheron Irrigation Project in Baku, Azerbaijan. Full story...Lovat's Olympic training
LOVAT has begun a series of TBM deliveries that will play a vital role in building infrastructure tunnels for the 2014 Russian Winter Olympics. Full story...Robbins to deliver TBM to Laos
Robbins has announced that it is to deliver a TBM for a new hydroelectric project in Laos. Full story...Crossrail construction begins
The first of almost 400 18.5m-deep, steel, tubular piles, have been placed, signalling the start of construction on London's Crossrail project. Full story...Heathrow to get biggest baggage system
Work has begun on Heathrow Airport’s world-beating integrated baggage system. Full story...Water-recycling project scoops prize
A Singapore water-recycling scheme has won ‘Water Project of the Year’ at the annual Global Water Awards. Full story...Minova expands resin production
Mining and construction consumables producer Minova has expanded its Minetek plant in Hyderabad, India. Full story...CzTA calls for papers on transport and city tunnels
The Czech Tunnelling Association (CzTA) has announced a call for papers for the 11th International Conference of Underground Construction, held in Prague, Czech Republic, on June 14-16, 2010. Full story...Herrenknecht's Bosporus break
On April 13, a Herrenknecht TBM reached its target shaft on the Asian side of Istanbul having tunnelled under the Bosporus. Full story...Big clean-up
Work to bore a 3.3km-long tunnel beneath West Ham, East London, began on April 28 as part of a US$106 million scheme that will be in place by next spring to protect over 600 homes from sewer flooding. Full story...Victory in sight
Jack Burke reports from Colorado, US, on the Arrowhead East and West tunnels, a part of the Inland Feeder conveyance system which will have a 28.3m3/sec water capacity when completed in 2010. Full story...Leading on risk
Professor Arnold Dix of Queensland University of Technology and an independent consultant, is a technical/legal expert advisor and world authority on managing the risks associated with tunnels and underground infrastructures. He also specialises in operational safety, as well as in contractual, political and insurance issues for complex tunnel projects. Full story...
Gautrain hits the 90% mark
Dr Barbara Jensen, a spokesperson for Gautrain, has confirmed that 13,552m – 90% –of the 15km tunnel, which will form part of the Gautrain network, is now complete. Full story...German company to survey Bosnian HEP site
Essen-based technology services provider DMT has been commissioned to carry out a geodetic survey for a feasibility study for a new hydro-electric power plant near Vrelo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Full story...A sprinkling of good sense
Carly Lovejoy’s article in this issue concerns the recent fire and associated repair work to the Channel tunnel linking the UK and France. Full story...MRT project to face tunnel challenge
Indonesia’s first mass rapid transit (MRT) project in the capital Jakarta will face some big challenges, especially from the tunnel construction element, reports Syed Rashid Ali in Pakistan. Full story...Saudi tunnel will boost tourism
Saudi Arabia is looking into the possibility of constructing an 11km tunnel that would drastically reduce the travel time between the cities of Mecca and Taif in the western part of the Saudi kingdom, reports Syed Rashid Ali. Full story...More hydro power tunnel contracts for Cavico
Hanoi-based Infrastructure company Cavico has announced it has won a US$4.9 million contract for the construction of a diversion tunnel and coffer dam at the Hua Na hydro-power plant in Vietnam. The award was made by the state-owned Lilama company. Full story...'Tunnelling Academy' for London
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced details of a Crossrail ‘tunnelling academy’ that will offer a variety of courses considered essential to the delivery of the US$21.9 billion rail project Full story...Tunnel or bridge?
Linking Denmark and Germany, the Fehmarnbelt marine crossing will, when complete, be the world’s longest combined road and railway tunnels. Full story...Jacobs wins major Crossrail role
Following a competitive tender process, Jacobs Engineering has been appointed project representative for Crossrail, the 118km east-west rail link to stretch across Greater London and include 21km of tunnels. Full story...Testing times for bentonite
Ian Morrison takes an altogether more critical view on the use of bentonite as a TBM slurry Full story...Indian infrastructure wheels start to turn slowly
Infrastructure spending may be starting to have a beneficial effect on the Indian economy, given the recent flurry of activity on the hydro-electric front. Full story...
Aecon JV to complete Vancouver filtration tunnels
Canadian infrastructure specialist Aecon announced last month that it is part of a joint venture that has been awarded a US$181 million contract by Metro Vancouver to complete the twin tunnel component of the Seymour Capilano Filtration project in the Greater Vancouver area. Full story...Accolades for Rhode Island CSO scheme
One of the largest civil works projects in the history of Rhode island, US, has been awarded UCA 2009 ‘Project of the Year’ by the Underground Construction Association. Full story...RETC in Vegas
RETC (Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference) will be held this year in Las Vegas, US, on June 14-17. Full story...Antonov flies tunnelling equipment into Sochi
An Antonov AN-124-100 freighter belonging to Volga-Dnepr Airlines delivered the first 94t consignment of tunnelling equipment to the Russian city of Sochi on behalf of tunnel-construction specialist OAO Bamtonnelstroy. Full story...DLR Extension picks up ICE award
An ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) London Merit Award for Infrastructure has been awarded to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Woolwich Arsenal Extension in East London, UK. Full story...Designs for Mixshields
In this abridged paper, Dr Martin Herrenknecht and Dr Karin Bappler review the progress of mechanised tunnelling technology, focusing on current design approaches to soft-ground TBMs. Full story...Black & Veatch win award for Charleston
Global engineering consulting and construction company Black & Veatch, in association with consulting engineer/architect Hussey, Gay, Bell and de Young, has received the 2009 Engineering Excellence Honour Award for its work on Charleston Water System’s Sewer Tunnel Replacement Program in Charleston, South Carolina, US. Full story...'Imitate or Innovate' theme for tunnel symposium
Anyone involved in tunnel ventilation may be interested to know that BHR Group is inviting registrations for its 13th International Symposium on tunnel aerodynamics & ventilation, to be held in New Brunswick, US, on May 13-15. Full story...Robbins trio dig deep in Mexico
Mexico City’s wastewater problem will be eased by a TBM-bored tunnel through unique geology, reports Desiree Willis of The Robbins Company. Full story...In Charge and Upbeat
Marek Grocholewski trained as a civil engineer in his native Poland and now heads Minova’s tunnelling division. Based in Germany, he has experience of both the tunnelling and mining sectors. Here, he speaks to George Demetri about his current role and some of the issues facing the industry. Full story...
Transcend confirmed for Crossrail project
A further sign that progress is being made on London’s US$21.9bn Crossrail project is the news that Transcend – a joint venture between AECOM, CH2M Hill and Nichols Group – has been confirmed as ‘programme partner’. Full story...Miami tunnel put on hold for now
It has been years in the making, but the Port of Miami tunnel is once more in the doldrums. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) secretary Stephanie Kopelousos recently recommended abandoning the existing arrangement due to serious questions over the funding provided by Miami Access Tunnel (MAT), the project’s private partner. Full story...Nanjing bore passes Yangtze mid-point
Good progress is being made on Nanjing’s cross-river development – a project seen as representing the pinnacle of Chinese underwater construction technology. Full story...Euroform segment order for Laos hydropower project
Herrenknecht subsidiary Euroform has won a contract to supply segment moulds and related carousel equipment for the US$240 million Theun Hinboun hydro project in Laos. Full story...Lovat breaks through on Auckland sewer tunnel
On January 30, a Lovat RME170SE Series 23700 TBM broke through on the Orakei Main Sewer Hobson Diversion (OMSHD) tunnel project in Auckland, New Zealand – 17 days ahead of schedule. Full story...Edison, Einstein, Hawking...and now Robbins
Richard Robbins (pictured), former president and CEO of TBM maker Robbins, has been awarded the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Engineering by the Philadelphia-based Franklin Institute. Full story...
Robbins TBM sets Delhi Metro record
One of 14 TBMs used on the excavation of the New Delhi Metro in India has surpassed its fellow machines in operational performance by achieving a best weekly advance rate of 202m, which equates to 168 rings. Full story...NFM enters the subcontinent
It looks as if French TBM-maker NFM Technologies is to supply the rapidly expanding Indian underground infrastructure market. Full story...Madrid metro branches out
The first line of the Madrid Metro was the central section of Line 1, which opened in 1919, since when many extensions and new lines have been built, but over the last few years it has been extended considerably. Full story...Immersed in discussion
You may notice that a substantial part of this magazine (pp21-31) is taken up by the World Tunnelling round table, held in Sargans, Switzerland on September 16. Full story...Global steel woes gather momentum
In a further escalation of the global economic downturn, the World Steel Association recently announced that world crude steel output fell by almost 25% in December; a dramatic contrast to the 1.2% slide recorded for the whole of 2008. Full story...
Hallandsås beset by more problems
Unforeseen complications with rock and water conditions have added even further costs and delays to the troubled Hallandsås tunnel project. Swedish railway admini-stration body Banverket announced last month that the project would be ready for traffic in 2015, not in 2012 as originally planned. Full story...READ THE LATEST PRINT EDITION:
WT June 2012
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