The Waterview Connection Project represents one of the largest infrastructure developments in New Zealand. The project comprises twin-tube road tunnels that are built using a very large diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM). The tunnels impact a large number of existing buildings and utilities as they pass beneath residential property and public reserve. The tunnels also cross beneath the North Auckland Railway branch. Accordingly, exercising ground control to minimize settlements and adverse impacts to the community are of paramount importance. The tunnel project is built under high safety standards in an urban area and with shallow cover. The report addresses the TBM design and tunnelling aspects with experiences in large diameter TBM operation for the first of the twin-tube bores from the perspective of the machine manufacturer.
Within the scope of the first Forum on Injection Technology in Düsseldorf in late November 2014, the third edition of the “Sealing of Buildings through Grouting” Leaflet (ABI-Merkblatt), which had been revised in many key sectors, was presented. This new edition of the ABI Leaflet, which is published in German language, describes the latest state of the art in the field of subsequently remedying damage affecting the sealing of structural parts in contact with the earth. The materials and means of application described in this leaflet frequently represent the sole effective and economic possibility for remedying damage. For a whole series of materials and methods applied in this connection no application standards or technical regulations exist.
In October 2014, the Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A. carried out a full scale emergency exercise in the more than 40 years old Virgolo tunnel near Bolzano. Fogtec’s fixed firefighting system (FFFS)...
The Hirschhagen Tunnel, which was commissioned by Hessen Mobil – Straßen- und Verkehrsmanagement, is a construction section of the A44 federal motorway between Kassel and Herleshausen. It will run...
The Jagdberg Tunnel is part of the German Unity No. 15 Transport Project, which involves the upgrading of the A4 between Eisenach and Görlitz. The 130 km route which has been widened for six lanes...
Since the new timetable came into force at the end of 2014 the Port of Antwerp possesses a direct rail link from the right to the left bank of the Schelde. The route through the Liefkenshoek rail...
From Jan 1, 2015, ISV Industrie-Steck-Vorrichtungen GmbH has been renamed Marechal GmbH. This change only concerns the naming and the logo. The well-known sales, technical consulting and production...
The Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO/ASTRA) intends increasing safety in the 3.2 km long Belchen Tunnel on the A2 motorway. Towards this end it has invested 128 million Swiss francs since 2008. The ongoing activities to enhance tunnel safety at the Belchen actually represent only the beginning of a major refurbishing programme: 500 million Swiss francs are earmarked for building an additional Belchen Tunnel (STB) for the A2 between Hagendorf in the Canton of Solothurn and Eptingen in the Basle-Land Canton in the period from 2015 to 2022. This will enable the two directionally-separate, twin-lane tunnels dating back to 1970 to be renovated one after the other without traffic being restricted.
At the end of October 2014 the final sections of track were laid in the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT). This means that the world’s longest rail tunnel can now be negotiated over its entire 57 km length...
Tucked away on a small jobsite in a quiet neighbourhood bordering a busy interstate highway, a Robbins Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine underwent Onsite First Time Assembly (OFTA). On November 17, 2014 the 6.65 m (21.8 ft) TBM rumbled to life and began its journey south into the city of Seattle, Washington, USA. The machine, for contractor JCM North Link LLC (a joint venture of Jay Dee, Coluccio, and Michels) is excavating for the North Link Project, which is an extension of Seattle’s light rail system. The project requires twin 5.8 km (3.6 mi) tunnels through glacial till and sand.
