The next World Tunnel Congress will be held in Naples from 3rd to 9th May 2019. The conference A key event for the engineering and geotechnical sectors linked to tunnelling, promoted by the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES) and Società Italiana Gallerie (SIG). This WTC will be characterized by a distinctive and unique perspective due to the inclusion of themes suggested by the city of Naples and its context, and more generally by the Italian background.
Until now, normal untreated hardboard has been used as load distribution boards. For the purpose of rationalisation, these boards are mostly glued on immediately after segment production. Then the...
In future, the road tunnel beneath the Suez Canal to the south of the city of Port Said in northern Egypt will link the Lower Egyptian mainland with the Sinai Peninsula. The tunnel project is part of the Egyptian government’s plan for the economic development of the Suez Canal region presented in 2014. Towards this end, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government is concentrating on international trade and building up the cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said. By constructing the road tunnel, the ongoing substantial delays resulting from having to cope with heavy-duty and passenger traffic on ferries are to be alleviated. This article deals with the construction of the two roughly 2.9 km long tunnel tubes with an external diameter of 12,60 m, in the proximity of Port Said under somewhat out of the ordinary circumstances.
The 3.25 km long Gubrist Tunnel on the Zurich North Bypass (A1) is a neuralgic infrastructure on the Swiss motorway network. As a reaction to the permanent congestion in the twin tunnel that was commissioned in 1985, a third tube as well as ventilation and operating centres are being built. The article in tunnel 5/2018 explains the project’s characteristics and challenges with particular attention being paid to BIM modelling of the underground operating centre.
In the “Albvorland Tunnel” section of the Stuttgart–Ulm rail project, some areas are being implemented with the assistance of Building Information Modeling. The following BIM application cases were defined: 3D-assisted design and collision detection (3D), linking of the schedule with the 3D model to check construction sequence and date collisions (4D), linking of the bill of quantities with the 3D model and the schedule (5D) to produce cost curve analyses and monitor construction progress and performance reports, reporting for the clear illustration of the significant key numbers to the BIM application cases.
The Filder Tunnel (Plan Approval Section/PFA 1.2) and the tunnels running to Ober-/Untertürkheim (PFA 1.6a) for the Stuttgart–Ulm rail project are being built by the ATCOST21 JV on behalf of the DB Stuttgart–Ulm GmbH. The Filder Tunnel’s two tubes will link Stuttgart’s new Central Station with the Filder Plain to the south of Stuttgart. The tunnels leading to Ober-/Untertürkheim connect the Central Station with the existing rail line in the Neckar Valley and the new railway yard at Untertürkheim. The article in tunnel 5/2018 provides an overview of the status of the works as well a preview of forthcoming construction measures.
In the border region between Switzerland and Austria, the largest hydroelectric run off river power station in the Alps, is being built in Engadine and in Tyrol on the upper reaches of the river Inn. With a 23 km headrace tunnel and a dam construction site directly on the border, apart from the technical challenges, there are also cross-border issues which have to be resolved. This article from tunnel 5/2018 was part of the conference programme at the Swiss Tunnel Congress 2018.
The engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald provided innovative leadership on the UK’s largest-ever water industry infrastructure project, the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, by enabling a going-digital...
SYTRAL, the transport association for Rhône Department and Lyon, has commissioned Implenia (lead-manager) and Demathieu Bard to build Lot GC 01 of the Métro Line B extension in Lyon. Each company has...
Interview with Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin and Martin-Devid Herrenknecht
Herrenknecht AG is a globally successful family business with 5000 employees and the market leader, not only for tunnel boring machines. Since the founding of Herrenknecht GmbH in 1977 by – as described aptly in the company chronicle – “namesake, driving force and CEO” Dr.-Ing. E. h. Martin Herrenknecht, the company has developed dynamically and convinced again and again with technically sophisticated solutions to problems in underground construction. Meanwhile, Martin-Devid Herrenknecht, engineer and one of three children, has joined the company. Rarely does one have the opportunity to meet both father and son for a very personal interview with fascinating statements on the market, technologies and the future of tunnel construction.
