As 1999 draws to a close, Tunnels & Tunnelling International brings together an overview of the year’s big news stories. It’s certainly been a year of highs and lows for the industry, ranging from celebrations at the great news of funding for the AlpTransit project in Switzerland to the tragedy of the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire on the France-Italy border.
January: Tunnelling began on the $86m, 10.5km long TBM driven Humbercare project in Hull, said to be the UK’s largest tunnelling contract since the Channel Tunnel. In Australia, the 28km long Sydney Orbital (80% of which is to be underground) gets the government go-ahead, while in Chicago, US, shaft sinking begins on the final leg of the huge TARP project. In China, slow TBM progress rates result in drill+blast being chosen for a 5km long section of unexpected hard ground on the 18.5km long Qinling Tunnel.
February: February was dominated by news of the approval of funding for the massive AlpTransit project in Switzerland that will include the unprecedented 57km long twin-bore Gotthard Tunnel. In Singapore, bids were considered for pre-qualification for the first phase of the country’s multi-million dollar sewerage programme, which involves construction of 48km of 3.3-5m diameter tunnels. Meanwhile, in the UK, the first use of the Perforex pre-vaulting method got under way on the $48m, 800m Ramsgate Harbour Approach road tunnel.
March: As T&T International went to press, news broke of the guilty verdict and record fines imposed on contractor Balfour Beatty ($2m) and NATM consultant Geoconsult ($800 000) for their part in the collapse of the Heathrow Express Tunnel in 1994. T&T International discovered a disturbing proposed EU directive that would effectively ban underground grouting, so raising tunnelling costs by up to 30%. Construction of the 19.2km and 1.7km Semmering Base tunnels were left hanging in the balance as environmental pressures mounted.
April: News emerged this month of the tragic fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel that claimed 42 lives, putting the spotlight on tunnel safety. The Heathrow Express Tunnel collapse trial was explained in depth, and covered the fines, history of the case.and Geoconsult’s decision to appeal. On a brighter note, the government of Sao Paulo decided to add 32.4km to the city’s metro system, mostly underground; Gammon construction stunned competition by scooping the $64m 612 tunnelling contract on the Tseung Kwan O extension in Hong Kong ;and the underground section of Turkey’s Izmir Metro was finished.
May: Construction started on one of the largest cross sectional area (150m2) twin rail track tunnels in the UK. The $237m, 3.2km North Downs Tunnel in Kent will be a vital part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL). Work also kicked off on the 9.6m diameter TBM driven 3.4km Botlek Tunnel in the Netherlands, the first double-track tunnel to be bored in the country. In the US, the San Diego South Bay Ocean Outfall, which includes a 5.6km EPBM built tunnel, was commissioned. The Archeological Survey of India objected to construction of the Delhi Metro, warning of damage to historic sites.
June: The date of January 2001 was given by client Union Railways (North) for the award of contracts for the 19km of tunnelling under London on the CTRL Section 2. The EU grout ban, reported in March, was amended, allowing more flexibility for tunnellers, and progress on the 28km long Boston MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel was back on schedule after a TBM failure in February. Settlement of 250mm was reported on the deep tunnel sewer system (DTSS) in Hong Kong, while Skanska pledged support for two workers charged for their part in the 1997 Hallandsås tunnel environmental accident.
July: Tunnel safety was the issue again after a fire claimed 12 lives in the 6.4km long single-tube Tauern road tunnel in Austria. Breakthrough of the 11.8km long Tai Po-Butterfly Valley bored tunnel in Hong Kong was reported, as was breakthrough of the 4.8km long Branisko road tunnel, Slovakia’s first ever NATM tunnel. In Bangkok, the first TBM was commissioned for excavating the 11km long, 6m diameter twin bored tunnels on the $1bn Bangkok Metro northern section, while in the UK, the Appeal Court refused Geoconsult permission to appeal against its conviction for its part in the Heathrow tunnel collapse.
August: Plans were revealed to connect Madrid in Spain with the Northern Basque region of France by using TBM driven10.7m diameter twin tunnels, each 28km long, having a planned construction start at the beginning of 2001. The 10km long Sydney Airport link tunnel broke through as construction of the 10.5km long Humbercare tunnels in Hull, UK, reached halfway. In Japan urgent checks on rail tunnels were called for after a 200kg section of lining fell on a train. In Hong Kong, a broken TBM drive shaft stopped work on a section of the $400m deep tunnel sewer scheme.
September: In Peru, January 2000 is the reported scheduled start of tunnelling on the 26km long TBM and drill+blast driven, $117m Yuncan Hydropower tunnel. Plans were announced for an all TBM driven 53km long underground extension of the Madrid Metro, with construction starting in February 2000. Details of a September breakthrough on the northern drive and December breakthrough on the southern drive of the 4.5km long Schulwald rail tunnel between Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany were reported. A tunnel collapse delayed the scheduled August breakthrough of the 24.5km long Laerdal tunnel in Norway.
October: The 18.5km long Qinling Tunnel breakthrough was reported this month, along with disturbing reports of possible bribery on the Lesotho Highlands water project. The much awaited Sir Adam Beck project in Canada, which includes a 10km long, 13.9m diameter tunnel, was deferred for at least six months, while tunnelling on Chicago’s TARP project entered the last leg. Talk of the resurrection of the UK’s $4.5bn CrossRail scheme, a 9km tunnel twin-bored tunnel under London, was met with cynicism, while in South East Asia, the Japan Railway Co completed emergency repairs on faulty tunnel lining.
November: An urgent probe was ordered by Japan’s transport minister following concrete lining failures in the Kitakyushu rail tunnel, two months after it passed safety tests. The $48m, 800m Ramsgate Harbour Approach Tunnel broke through, completing the first tunnel in the UK to be excavated by the prevaulting method. Egypt’s biggest TBM, at 9.2m diameter, holed through on the first of two drives for a road tunnel in Cairo, and purchases of the subsoil on the alignment of the 19km long CTRL 2 tunnels under London raised expectations that the scheme would be realised. In the US, the final section of the 28km long MetroWest tunnel started.
