In 2009, more than 1,300 people attended the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC) in Las Vegas, a steady increase from 2007 event in Toronto. And organizers say the 2011 conference this June in San Francisco is promising to be just as successful.
Hosted by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), RETC runs from Sunday, June 19 to Wednesday, June 22. The exhibit, all technical sessions, short courses and social events will be held at the Marriott Marquis. Deadlines for both hotel and advanced reservations are Friday, May 13.
The Conference will start off with two short courses on Sunday: Grouting in Underground Construction and Large Diameter Tunnelling Technologies. It should be noted that you do not need to register for RETC to attend the short courses, and at the same time, registering for the short courses does not include entry to the conference.
Monday through Wednesday are then dedicated to technical sessions running in the mornings from 8:30 to 11:30, and in the afternoons from 1:30 to 5:00 (Wednesday afternoon excluded).
The Alaskan Way Viaduct bored tunnel replacement, not surprisingly, will be featured in several topics, making it easy to catch up on the project at some point during the conference. Papers will be presented Sunday afternoon in the Contracting Practices/Costs technical session, Monday morning in the Large Span Tunnels/Caverns session and Tuesday morning in both the Geotechnical Considerations and the Design & Planning technical sessions. The Washington State Department of Transportation will also be presenting during the Owners’ Forum on Sunday.
All in all, RETC offers a thorough selection of papers, projects and presentations, and it will be a challenge to organize your schedule. Topics vary from Risk Management to Water & Gas Control, and include excavation methods.
Looking local, projects specific to the San Francisco Bay area will be featured Monday morning including the Bay Tunnel, the New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel and the Central Subway (alternatively, check out the SEM/NATM technical session at the same day and time, of which a majority of the projects featured will be from abroad.)
Alongside technical sessions, will run the requisite social events. James Stefanic of Geotec Boyles Bros. will be speaking about the Chilean mine rescue at Monday’s Welcoming Luncheon. The UCA of SME Breakfast on Tuesday will include a presentation by chair David Klug, who will introduce incoming UCA chair Jeff Petersen. Tuesday will conclude with the RETC Dinner, featuring Brian Olsen and his ‘Art in Action’ show.
Field Trips
A visit to the New Irvington Tunnel is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. In addition to multiple roadheaders, contractor Southland/Tutor Perini is excavating the 3.5-mile (5.6km) tunnel using controlled detonation. With an 8.5ft to 10.5ft (2.6m to 3.2m) diameter it will provide a seismically-designed connection between water supplies from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Alameda Watershed to Bay Area water distribution systems. This new tunnel will lay parallel to an existing one, which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will take out of service and repair.
The tour, lead by SFPUC, will focus on one of the project’s three main tunneling locations, the Alameda West Portal. Participants will be able to walk into the heading to observe tunnel support systems and the roadheader. The heading will be approximately 1,500ft (457.2m) from the portal.
A second trip to the SFPUC’s Sunnydale Auxiliary Sewer project will be held Wednesday afternoon.
RETC offers the opportunity to visit the New Irvington Tunnel.
