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On 10 October 2018, the Austrian national committee of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) awarded their innovation prize to the STUVA for the “development of a water-permeable annular gap material for single-shell drained segment linings”. During a ceremony as part of the Austrian Tunnel Day 2018, the trophy was handed to the STUVA and their research partners IMM Maidl & Maidl (Germany), Porr Bau GmbH (Österreich) and MC-Bauchemie Müller GmbH & Co. KG (Germany). The prize committee of the Austrian Tunnel Day regularly awards the prize to particularly creative developments in tunnelling.

On October 26, 2018 the Malaysian Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced that the Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line (MRT Line 2) project will be continued by MMC-Gamuda, after the company agreed to a larger cost reduction for the underground works. The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project is a strategic Government project which will increase connectivity of the Klang Valley’s public rail network.

On September 18, 2018, a Robbins slurry machine, measuring 13.7 m in diameter, made its first cut into hard rock for the Hiroshima Expressway Line 5 project in Japan. The launch at an urban jobsite was made possible by Onsite First Time Assembly (OFTA) of the TBM. The contractor, a joint venture of Obayashi-Taisei-Kosei, had a strict timeline of eight months to adhere to when it came to machine assembly. “This deadline was very important. After assembling the TBM, I think OFTA was appropriate for this project,” said Mr. Ryota Akai, Deputy Project Manager for the Obayashi JV.

All over the world, private and freight traffic will continue to increase. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, even now more than half of all people live in cities and the surrounding areas. Globalisation and urbanisation are causing these infrastructure developments. As a result, people, raw materials and goods are being moved around more than ever before. Civil engineering is confronted with increasing demands; this includes structures for transport and utility networks. Tunnels and bridges are key elements. Such projects are normally tendered internationally. For business reasons, the bidding companies must be able to use reliable and exactly definable construction machines or formwork and scaffolding systems.

After about 9 km each through tough gneiss, on September 11, 2018 the tunnel boring machines “Queen Eufemia” and “Queen Ellisiv” achieved a double breakthrough near the city center of Oslo. The Follo Line Project is currently Norway‘s largest infrastructure project and involves the construction of the country‘s longest railway tunnel. The two 20 km long tunnels connect Oslo with Ski further to the south. From 2021 they will shorten travel time for commuters by half.

The 100-year old, two-track Rudersdorf Tunnel between Siegen and Haiger restricts the route’s capacity owing to its small cross-section. Furthermore, the rail tunnel is requiring ever increasing maintenance. In a process lasting only seven months, a feasibility study was produced for the project, featuring six alternatives involving a more fundamental pre-planning process for the preferred option 3b “Construction of two new single-track tunnel tubes to the west of the existing tunnel including its decomissioning”. It has since passed the DB Netz AG’s “stress test”.

The Tunnelling Pocketbook has been a reliable companion for clients, planners and practitioners for many years. The latest edition for 2019 provides practical findings and contains numerous related...

All over the world, private and freight traffic will continue to increase. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, even now more than half of all people live in cities and the surrounding...

On 10 October 2018, the Austrian national committee of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) awarded their innovation prize to the STUVA for the “development of a...