One of the prominent themes brought out at the recent AFTES conference in Paris was the perennial call for wider client acceptance of underground solutions to modern infrastructure needs. Of course, to achieve this goal and secure the future of the tunnelling sector it is incumbent upon all of us to portray the underground solution in as good a light as possible.
But how much harder is it for the industry, especially in the UK, to promote itself when the public is faced with a debacle on the scale of London’s Jubilee Line Extension?
While London Underground Limited’s handling of this prestigious project may beggar belief, it is not just the reputation of this one client organisation that is under the spotlight, but, by association, the entire underground construction sector.
Although those ‘in the know’ may argue that the tunnelling works were a success (despite the impact of outside events such as the Heathrow Express collapse) and that the current problems are due to the M&E fit out, it is the underground solution itself that is being blamed.
Originally due for commissioning in March ’98, the latest revised schedule should have seen the line fully open in mid-November ’99, nearly 18 months late. Frequently made, and broken, promises of an opening date for the line have discredited the entire project and attracted ridicule and cynicism from the travelling public. Moreover, since the first phase was opened, it has seen repeated failures and shutdowns of the recently installed systems.
Thankfully, there are enough examples in the UK and around the world of projects brought in to time and budget to show that JLE-type high profile PR disasters are by no means inevitable.
But promoting the positive aspects of underground solutions to infrastructure development will always be an uphill struggle while opponents’ prejudices are reinforced by the very projects which should be providing us with our most powerful ammunition.
