Finalisation of the congress programme has now been completed and the theme of ‘Modern Tunnels – Challenges and Solutions’ has been well supported. The organising committee has been delighted with the level of response and enthusiasm that the industry as a whole has demonstrated. The programme and papers received provide proof of the great achievements made within the tunnelling industry and give details of the latest developments and newest technologies.

History of Australian tunnelling industry

The Giant Snowy Mountains Scheme which started in the late 1940’s and continued for some 20 or more years is rightly considered to be the foundation of civil tunnelling in Australia. The period between 1990 and 2010, while not comparable in sheer size and scale of the Snowy Scheme, will nonetheless be seen as the second most important period in the development of the tunnelling industry in Australia.

In light of these facts the timing of this congress is particularly relevant as it stands midway in this period. In the last decade of the last Century we have planned and completed a series of major underground projects including;

  • LPG Caverns to store 60,000 tonnes of propane situated 150 metres below the surface adjacent to and under Port Botany;

  • Eastern Distributor including 1.7km of double deck tunnel as part of a 12km motorway;

  • M5 East extension linking the existing M5 with General Holmes Drive at Sydney Airport, which includes 4km of twin two lane tunnels;

  • Northside Storage Tunnel – consisting of 22km of bored tunnel between 3.8m and 6.6m diameter;

  • New Southern Railway including 10km of 10.5m diameter tunnel of which 5.8km was in soft ground and excavated by TBM with the remainder in hard rock excavated by roadheader;

  • Melbourne’s City Link including a 3 lane, 3.4km tunnel and a 3 lane, 1.6km tunnel all as part of the US$1bn City Link Project;

  • Perth’s Graham Farmer Freeway which includes a 1.6km, 6 lane road tunnel constructed by top down cut and cover techniques.

A bright future downunder

In the first decade of this new Century we are about to embark on a further series of major underground projects, mainly concentrated on the Eastern Seaboard. Key projects will include:

  • Cross City Tunnel in Sydney – twin two-lane tunnels, 1.25km in length with significant cut and cover and soft ground tunnelling, allowing the by-pass of city traffic in an east/west direction, fundamental to a re-ordering of the city’s traffic. The project is a privately funded toll-road with award anticipated by mid 2002;

  • Parramatta Rail Link in Sydney – the first contract on the Epping to Chatswood section is currently out to tender and includes 16km of twin rail tunnels and station excavation. The project will connect existing lines at Epping to the main North line at Chatswood. The value of this tender anticipated to be in order of US$309M. The award is due for the last quarter of 2002. The second stage connecting Epping to Parramatta is programmed to start later in the decade;

  • Eastern Freeway Extension Tunnel in Melbourne – twin three-lane tunnels in essentially soft ground, medium rock strength conditions with low cover. Tunnels will be in the order of 1.5km in length. Value of the project is anticipated to be in the order of US$129M. Contract award is expected by mid 2002;

  • Lane Cove Tunnel Sydney – twin two/three-lane tunnels – 3.4km in length which join the existing M2 and Gore Hill Freeway. Estimated value is US$411M. Tenders to be called early-mid 2003;

When these significant underground projects in advanced planning stages are allied with the expanding underground opportunities in the metalliferous and coal mining industries, strong industry growth within our country can be predicted in the first decade of this new century.

The challenges that we face in Australia in bringing these major underground projects to completion are essentially the same as in other areas of the world and are encapsulated in the congress theme ‘Modern Tunnels – Challenges and Solutions’.

Congress programme

In framing the congress programme, the organising committee endeavoured to strike a balance. High quality technical sessions such as ‘Microtunnelling’ where Professor Ray Sterling from Louisianna State University will give the keynote address are combined with other plenary sessions that address a variety of areas such as safety in construction. A keynote speech by Donald Lamont of the UK Health & Safety Executive will open the session on ‘Risk Management in Modern Tunnelling’. Our open session topic of ‘Fire and Life Safety in Tunnels’ is particularly relevant at present.

Areas which can be described as political, societal and environmental, which can delay or in some cases even cause cancellation of projects, have self evidently become vitally important to our industry and form an important part of the congress program. These topics will be broadly covered with a keynote speech in the first plenary session by John Reilly (Immediate Past President of American Underground Association).

Hopefully the ideas generated in the presentation of papers and in the ensuing discussions at the congress will assist in the process of a more integrated management system being adopted in the industry from project inception through design, construction and commissioning.

In light of this emphasis, we believe that the programme will be of great interest not only to the tunnelling community but also to bodies involved in various aspects of underground projects such as legal and environmental organisations and government departments.

In total, 84 papers from a wide range of countries will be presented, it is obviously not possible to list all papers but, in summary, the following sessions will be held;

  • Benchmark Projects

  • Modern Project Delivery

  • Risk Management in Modern Tunnelling

  • Waste Management, Serviceability & Maintenance

  • Microtunnelling

  • Tunnel Ventilation & Fire Protection

  • Design & Development – Hard Rock

  • Design & Development – Soft Rock

  • Design & Development – Geotechnical

  • Design & Development – NATM

  • Design & Development – Mechanical Excavation

  • Design & Development – Innovative Techniques

  • Design & Development – Innovative Technologies

In most cases, the papers will cover more than the headline session topic, in many cases, papers could just as easily reside in another session. The list of speakers in the plenary sessions is very impressive and augurs well for a good congress.

Industry Support

Support from the industry has also been excellent, the current list of sponsors includes the Roads & Traffic Authority (NSW), MBT Australia, Walter Construction, Transfield Tunnelling, Voest Alpine, Parramatta Rail Link Authority and Sydney Water Corporation.

The response to the trade exhibition has been equally strong with many exhibitors taking multiple booths, only a handful of stands remain to be allocated. The current list of exhibitors includes companies such as: MBT (Australia), Smorgon ARC, Strata Control Systems, CarboTech Fosroc, Xypex, Elkem, Raax Australia, Dywidag, LTM Corporation, Connell Wagner, Vitragroup, Transfield Tunnelling, Voest-Alpine, Atlas Copco, Halcrow Pacific, Sika Australia, EROC, Walter Construction, TACHUS, Slope Indicator, Mining Equipment, Parramatta Rail Link Authority, Soltau Microtunnelling, Herrenknecht, Robbins, Sarnafil, Pacific Tunnelling and Lovat.

With a varied and exciting social programme and the vibrant city of Sydney to enjoy, the congress will be a memorable and above all pleasurable event to attend.