Tunneling Business Magazine Jun-2016

TABLE OF 3
CONTENTS
JUNE 2016
ON THE COVER
The Northgate Link Light Rail Extension, part of Sound Tran-
sits network built out, will add to Seattles subway route by
providing access north of Seattle down to the University of
Washingtons Husky Stadium. (Photo: The Robbins Company.)
FEATURES
10 Sound Transit Forging Ahead
Since it was created 20 years ago, Sound Transit has
been actively engaged in building out a transit system
in the greater Seattle area.
16 Cement Grout vs. Chemical Grout:

Which One to Use, When, and Why
Cementitious and chemical grouts share a common
category and name, but the distinct diferences far
outweigh the common qualities.
By Britt N. Babcock
DEPARTMENTS
18 Tunnel Shaft Dewatering
4 Publishers Message This article describes how to deal with stratifed soils
below the water table.
Investing in Infrastructure
By Tom Minihan
By Jim Rush
20 WTC 2016 Recap

6 Business Briefs The World Tunnel Congress in San Francisco ended
News from across North America up drawing more than 2,300 participants, making it
and around the world. the largest tunneling show held worldwide.
40 Products 24 European Megaprojects

The Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T)
requires about 500 billion Euro and involves several
46 Business Cards tunneled sections.
By Dipl.-Ing. Roland Herr
46 Ad Index
28 Microtunnel Project Overcomes Macro Challenges
Built as part of the First Street Tunnel, the Adams
46 Calendar Street Adit involved a short run of microtunnel completed
under very challenging and unique circumstances.
By Jim Rush
31 Q&A with Stantecs Gord Johnston
TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine (ISSN 1553-2917) is published six times per year.
32 Boring in Baltimore
Copyright 2016, Benjamin Media Inc., 10050 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, OH Bradshaw Construction completes Lower Gwynns Run
Interceptor Phase II through challenging rock conditions.
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TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

4 PUBLISHERS
MESSAGE
Jim Rush - Publisher/Editor
Investing in Infrastructure
In this issue we profile Sound Transit, the transportation author- This lack of investment has shown up on the Washington, D.C.,
ity created in 1996 that has been building out a light rail system metro system, which is facing serious challenges in system reliabil-
among other things in the metro Seattle area. Recently, Sound ity. In March, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author-
Transit began passenger service on its University Link segment, ity (WMATA) shut down the entire system the countrys second
an extension that connects downtown to the Capitol Hill and Uni- busiest with 700,000 daily riders for 29 hours to address some
versity of Washington areas via tunnels and underground stations. of the most critical issues. Officials are planning a rehabilitation
The agency is currently making process on its next extension to the program that will require further service disruptions in the com-
north, having completed 5 of 6 tunnel drives and is on pace to begin ing months.
service in 2021. In the New York area, the key connection between New Jersey and
This November, voters in the Seattle area will decide on a mea- Penn Station relies on twin 100-year-old-plus Hudson River tunnels
sure that would provide an additional $50 billion in investments for that are in need of repair. The situation worsened when the tunnels
the regions mass transit projects over a 25-year period a period in were damaged by flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Current-
which population in the region is expected to grow substantially in ly, officials are planning the $20 billion-plus Gateway Rail Tunnel
an already congested area. By investing in the transportation net- to construct new tunnels (as well as other improvements) under the
work now, Sound Transit is helping to keep people and goods moving Hudson and allow the existing tunnels to be reconditioned.
efficiently and maintain the economic vitality of the region. Efficient and widespread transportation networks play a criti-
Similarly, Los Angeles continues to build out its metro rail sys- cal role in the vitality and economic competitiveness of any city. In
tem with investments approved by taxpayers. In 2008, voters ap- addition to the long-term benefits that public transportation pro-
proved Measure R, which helped to provide funding over 30 years vides, construction spending boosts employment as well as related
for projects including the Regional Connector, Westside Purple spending on equipment, engineering and supply. Investing in in-
Line Extension and Crenshaw/LAX projects that are currently un- frastructure and maintenance is the smart choice both in the long
der construction. and short term.
Unfortunately, success stories are not abundant on a national
basis. The often-cited ASCE Report Card for Americas Infrastruc- Regards,
ture rates the overall U.S. transit network as a D. Access to public
transportation systems was cited as a major issue, with just over
half of Americans 55% reporting that they have access to public
transportation. Additionally, the Federal Transit Administration
reports and annual funding gap of $25 billion. Jim Rush
PUBLISHER/EDITOR PRODUCTION+FULFILLMENT
JAMES W. RUSH Production Manager: CHRIS SLOGAR
jrush@benjaminmedia.com cslogar@benjaminmedia.com
Contributing Staff Editors: Graphic Designer:

SHARON M. BUENO BRAD KRAMER DEBORAH R. MCMANUS Chief Executive Officer: BERNARD P. KRZYS
ANDREW FARR MIKE KEZDI dmcmanus@benjaminmedia.com bkrzys@benjaminmedia.com
Web/Interactive Manager: MARK GORMAN President: ROBERT KRZYS
SALES+MARKETING mgorman@benjaminmedia.com robk@benjaminmedia.com
Director of Marketing: KELLY DADICH Fulfillment Specialist: LILLIAN LOPEMAN Controller: MARIANNE SAYKES
kdadich@benjaminmedia.com llopeman@benjaminmedia.com msaykes@benjaminmedia.com
Inside Sales Representative: MAURA DUGAN EDITORIAL COUNCIL
mdugan@benjaminmedia.com 10050 Brecksville Rd. Brecksville, OH 44141 USA
GARY BRIERLEY, P.E. Dr. Mole Inc. - Denver Ph: 330.467.7588 Fax: 330.468.2289
Regional Sales Representative: TODD MILLER RANDY ESSEX, P.E. Hatch Mott MacDonald - Rockville, Md. www.tunnelingonline.com
tmiller@benjaminmedia.com DR. LEVENT OZDEMIR, P.E. Ozdemir Engineering Inc. - Golden, Colo. e-mail: info@benjaminmedia.com
WILLIAM W. EDGERTON Jacobs Associates - San Francisco
Conferences Sales Coordinator: BRITTANY MAURER
JOE GILDNER Sound Transit - Seattle Reprint Information:
bmaurer@benjaminmedia.com
BORO LUKAJIC Consulting Engineer - Mississauga, Ont. Wrights Media
PAUL ROY AECOM USA - New York Ph: 877.652.5295. Fax: 916.983.6762 MEMBER
TED BUDD Kenny Construction - Wheeling, Ill.

DAVID CAIDEN Arup - New York, N.Y.
TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

6 BUSINESS
BRIEFS
Robbins Crossover TBM Breaks Through in Mexico City

The crew for the Alde-
sem/Proacon/Recsa
consortium had much to
celebrate at the inter-
mediate breakthrough
of North Americas first
Crossover TBM.
On March 29, 2016, North Americas first Crossover TBM broke new 185.1 m (607 ft). By mid-March the machine had bored through the first
ground in Mexico City. The 8.7-m (28.5-ft) diameter Robbins XRE a of the contact zones, a 30 m wide section of fractured and blocky rock.
cross between a rock TBM and an EPB emerged into an intermediate While the excavation through the contact zone was slow going, progress
shaft at Tnel Emisor Poniente (TEP) II. picked up again in the more competent rock. Final breakthrough is ex-
The machine is undergoing maintenance before continuing on to bore pected in autumn 2016.
the final 3.2 km (2 miles) of tunnel. The customized TBM, for a consor- Once complete, the 5.8-0km (3.6-mile) tunnel will supplement an ex-
tium of Aldesem, Proacon, and Recsa, was chosen based on a number of isting and overtaxed wastewater line built in the 1970s. The deep drain-
parameters that included challenging ground conditions below an area to age tunnel will serve to prevent recurrent flooding in Valle Dorado, and
the west of downtown Mexico City. will benefit the cities of Cuautital Izcalli, Tlalnepantla, and Atizapan de
The tunnel path travels through a mountain with cover as high as 170 Zaragoza, an area with a total population of 2.1 million inhabitants.
m (560 ft), through fault zones and in a section with cover as low as 8 m
(26 ft) above the tunnel crown. Much of the tunnel consists of andesite
rock with bands of tuff, and softer material in fault zones as well as an
874-m (2,870-ft) long section in soft ground at the end of the tunnel.
The geological profile of the project comprises six different litholo-
gies, among them hard rock such as dacite. To get the best operation in
both areas required use of dual mode technology such as the Crossover
TBM, said Enrique del Castillo of contractor Aldesem.
The machine setup includes a canopy drill and positioner for enhanced
ground consolidation, as well as gear reducers to adjust torque and rpm
based on ground conditions. The TBM, initially launched in hard rock
mode, can be operated in EPB mode later on by switching out the belt
conveyor with a screw and converting the cutterhead.
The Robbins Crossover machine began its journey in August 2015, and
The Robbins Crossover (XRE) TBM began its journey in
advance rates picked up quickly. Project records were set in January 2016
August 2015 following Onsite First Time Assembly (OFTA)
after the machine achieved a best day of 42.8 m (140 ft) and a best week of at the narrow launch site.

BUSINESS 7
In Memoriam: William Leech BRIEFS
William (Bill) Leech, 70, a long-time member of the

underground construction, tunnel and mining industries
passed away on Jan. 14, 2016, in Tucson, Arizona.
Leech was raised in Northern California, graduated high
school in Novato, California, and went on to the University
of Nevada-Reno where he earned a bachelor of science de-
gree in mining and metallurgy. Following his graduation,
Bill was accepted into the U.S. Navys Officer Candidate School in Newport,
Rhode Islands, where upon his Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps commis-
sion he served aboard the USS Canberra and the USS Belknap during the Viet-
nam War as a damage control officer.
Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Leech worked for many major
contracting, engineering and construction management firms.
The career path Leech chose in underground construction and mining took
him and his wife Peggy to many far-off locations, spending extended stays in
such countries as Peru (where their son Tom was born), Iceland, Saudi Arabia,
Lebanon, Canada, Taiwan and various locations in the United States. Both he
and Peggy loved adventurous travel and had finally lived a life-long dream to-
gether of a safari in Africa just prior to the illness that took his life.
Upon retiring from his profession, he and Peggy moved to Tubac, Ari-
zona, where they enjoyed the relaxed life and friendships of that small artist
community.
Leech is survived by his wife Peggy (Margaret Brajkovich), daughter Sarah
Leech and son Thomas Leech, granddaughter Isobell Leech and a sister, Karen
Mansene and her children, Aubrey Mansene and Lauren LaMarche (James) and
stepmother Phyllis Leech. He is predeceased by both parents Edward and Mar-
jorie Leech. Bill was a devoted family man, a true professional in his career, and
superior friend to many. He will be greatly and dearly missed.
$4 Billion Subway Contract

Awarded in Kuala Lumpur
Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp.) awarded the RM 15.47 billion
($4 billion US) underground works package for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-
Putrajaya (SSP) Line to MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd (MGKT). It is the
largest work package for the SSP Line.
The underground works package involves the design, construction and
completion of tunnels, underground stations and associated structures, in-
cluding portals and escape shafts, for the SSP Lines 13.5-km underground
alignment from the Jalan Ipoh North Escape Shaft to the Desa Waterpark
South Portal. The award was selected based on technical and commercial crite-
ria, not necessarily lowest price.
MGKT was one of five companies shortlisted in June 2015. The other four
shortlisted companies were China Railway Group Limited (CREC), China Com-
munications Construction Co. Ltd., Taisei Corp. and Hyundai Engineering and
Construction Co. Ltd. However, only MGKT, CREC and China Communications
Construction Co. Ltd. submitted tenders. The award is the third major package to
be awarded for the SSP Line.
The award is the third major civil and infrastructure works package to be
awarded for the SSP Line.

8 BUSINESS
BRIEFS
Four Herrenknecht TBMs Headed to Norway

ther cooperation. methods permits the installation of concrete seg-
Fernando Vara, Project Director at contractor ments parallel to the drive, resulting in very high
Acciona Ghella Joint Venture, is also pleased with performance rates. This powerful technology is
the cooperation: The collaboration between ideal for the construction of the future longest
Herrenknecht, Jernbaneverket and AGJV has tunnel in Scandinavia.
been very good, which is reflected in a delivery Each of the four Follo Line TBMs will work its
ahead of schedule, with good quality. way through 9.5 km of Norwegian granite with
The order for the four hard rock machines up to 350 MPa. Starting from the installation
S-980 to S-983 is one of the biggest in Herren- site in sland, two will tunnel northward toward
In mid-April, the acceptance of a recently knechts history. And at the same time an ad- Oslo, the other two will head south toward Ski.
completed Double Shield TBM ( 9,900 mm) for vance of mechanized tunneling technology into The Follo Line Project is currently the largest
Norways largest infrastructure project, the Follo a country where conventional tunneling tradi- transport project in Norway. The project consists
Line, took place at the Herrenknecht plant in tionally dominates. Anne Kathrine Kalager com- of a 22-km new double track railway line be-
Schwanau, Germany. While next door two more mented: We are quite good in drill-and-blast tween Oslo Central Station and the new station
high-speed tunnel borers are still in assembly, technology and proud of it. But for this project at Ski, south of Oslo. It will form the core part of
a fourth machine is being disassembled again TBM technology was considered the best solu- InterCity development south of Oslo and is com-
ready for transportation. tion due to the environment and the fact that we missioned by the Norwegian National Railway
At the official workshop acceptance of the have access to one large rig area for the total TBM Administration (Jernbaneverket).
first completed machine on March 10, 2016, tunnel construction work. Acciona Ghella Joint Venture will construct
Anne Kathrine Kalager, Project Manager with Double Shield TBMs are among the most tech- the main part of the 20-km long tunnel, which
client Jernbaneverket, said: We are impressed nically sophisticated tunnel boring machines. will be Scandinavias longest when it is finalized
by the TBM production. This first TBM is They combine the functional principles of Grip- at the end 2021. The construction of the line will
ready in less than one year since the contract per and Single Shield TBMs in one machine. In cut the travel time between Oslo and Ski by about
was signed. We are looking forward to our fur- stable geological conditions, combining these half to just 11 minutes.
Fehmarnbelt Tunnel Contractors Appointed

worlds longest of its type for both road and Construction Grands Projets S.A.S. (France);
rail. The project cost has been reported as 5.5 Per Aarsleff A/S (Denmark); Wayss & Freytag
billion ($6.1 billion). Ingenieurbau AG (Germany); Max Bgl Stif-
The immersed tunnel will comprise 89 large tung & Co. KG (Germany); CFE SA (Belgium);
pre-cast concrete elements. The elements will Soltance-Bachy International S.A.S. (France);
be cast in a factory built for the purpose east of BAM Infra BV (Netherlands); BAM Interna-
Rdbyhavn on the Danish side. The contractor tional B.V. (Netherlands); Sub-contractor
will therefore build the factory, cast the tunnel Dredging International N.V. (Belgium); consul-
elements, sail them to the tunnel trench and tant COWI A/S (Denmark).
On Friday, March 4, 2016, the Danish politi- immerse them into a tunnel trench under the The preferred contractor for the portals and
cal parties behind the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel man- seabed that will have been dug out in advance. ramps is also FLC. The preferred contractor
dated Femern A/S to appoint the preferred bid- The contractor will then cover the tunnel ele- for dredging and reclamation is Fehmarn Belt
ders for the main tunnel contracts with the aim ments and finish with a layer of rock on top to Contractors (FBC), a consortium including Bos-
of entering conditional contracts no later than protect the tunnel. kalis International B.V., HOCHTIEF Solutions
mid-May 2016. The preferred contractor for the immersed AG, Ed. Zblin AG, and Van Oord Dredging
The Fehmarnbelt link will be an 18-km tube tunnel is Femern Link Contractors (FLC). and Marine Contractors B.V., with consultant
(11-mile) long immersed tunnel. It will be the Project parties include: Contractors VINCI SWECO Danmark A/S.

BUSINESS 9
BRIEFS
New Hudson River Tunnel to Receive $70 Million for Engineering

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak and the U.S. NJ TRANSIT to help support the process
Department of Transportation, together with NJ TRANSIT, and with the The Port Authority, Amtrak, the U.S. Department of Transportation and
support of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, New York Gov- NJ TRANSIT have agreed to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding
ernor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, U.S. Sena- setting forth an interim framework for coordination among the parties to
tors Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Robert Menendez advance the Program, including establishment of an executive committee
(D-NJ) on March 23 announced a series of concrete steps to move the Gate- to coordinate activities and specific working groups focusing on environ-
way Program forward. mental permitting, construction and preliminary engineering, funding
The Gateway Programs Hudson Tunnel Project to construct a new and financing, rail operations, and governance matters.
rail tunnel under the Hudson River will receive $70 million in funding The local agencies also announced their intent to apply for competitive
for critical preliminary engineering work, with $35 million in federal federal grants in the coming months including those recently authorized
funding coming from Amtrak and $35 million from the Port Authority, by the FAST Act in December 2015 to advance the Gateway Program. Rep-
subject to the consideration and approval of each partys Boards, in order resentatives expect to pursue funding in the coming months from the U.S.
to expedite and accelerate environmental review and permitting for the Department of Transportation from grant programs such as TIGER, FAST-
Hudson Tunnel Project. LANE and New Starts.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that the de- The Gateway Program will deliver a set of rail infrastructure projects
partment will commit the necessary resources and take steps to accelerate between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City. Major projects include
federal environmental reviews and permitting for the Hudson Tunnel the construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project including the rehabilita-
Project. Inclusion of the project on the Presidents Federal Infrastructure tion of the existing rail tunnel, replacement of the Portal and Sawtooth
Projects Dashboard is expected and will help ensure swift and thorough bridges in New Jersey, the Hudson Yards tunnel right-of-way preserva-
completion of the environmental process. NJ TRANSIT already has issued tion project, and expansion of New York Penn Station, Newark Penn Sta-
a formal notice-to-proceed for consulting services funded by Amtrak and tion, and Secaucus Junction.
Final Proposals Received for Parallel

Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project
On April 29, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District received Fi-
nal Technical Proposals and Price Proposals for the Parallel Thimble Shoal
Tunnel Project. The project is being procured under a design-build method-
ology. Four teams were shortlisted in August 2015, and three of the teams
submitted final proposals. Award of the Project is expected in May 2016
with design beginning thereafter.
All three teams proposed building the tunnel using the bored method.
Proposing teams were: Archer WesternVinci Construction TunnelBuild-
ers (AWVC), $1,071,683,000; Bouygues TP/Traylor/Manson (BTM JV),
$1,016,046,800; and Dragados Team: Dragados USA and Schiavone Con-
struction Company, LLC, $1,092,000,000. The engineers estimate was
$724.4 million. SKW Tunnel Builders (a joint venture of Skanska, Kiewit
and Weeks) was shortlisted but did not submit a proposal. The mile-long
tunnel project will be awarded lowest bid meeting technical requirements.
Construction is expected to begin in 2017 with completion in 2020
or 2021. The Virginian-Pilot reported that because the project bids came
in higher than expected, there may be changes to scope to bring the price
down. The construction of an additional two-lane tunnel under the Thim-
ble Shoal Channel will expand capacity and improve safety for travelers
who utilize the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel and protect the econom-
ic competitiveness and livability of the region.

10 COVER
STORY
The 3.2-mile University Link segment, which opened

March 19, serves the University of Washington and the
Sound Transit Forging Ahead densely populated Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Seattle Agency Opens University Link,

Progressing on Northgate Link
By Jim Rush
Since it was created 20 years ago, Sound Transit has been actively en- University Link Opens
gaged in building out a transit system in the greater Seattle area. Recent- On March 19, Sound Transits newest operating segment the Uni-
ly, the expansion work has had a heavy focus on the underground. versity Link opened for business. The 3.2-mile segment connects the
By the end of the year, Sound Transit will have overseen the construc- Westlake station in downtown Seattle to new underground station at the
tion of more than 37,000 ft of twin tunnels, including five underground University of Washington. The segment also includes an underground
stations, since 2004. Along with surface and elevated guideway, Sound station at Capitol Hill. The segment, which opened six months ahead of
Transits light rail system stretches 15 miles from the University of schedule and approximately $200 million below its $1.9 billion budget,
Washington in the north to SeaTac airport in the south. serves the University of Washington one of the largest universities on
2016 has been a busy year for Sound Transit with the agency open- the West Coast and the densely populated Capitol Hill neighborhood.
ing its University Link extension on March 19, and breaking ground The response to the new University Link has been outstanding, said
on its East Link extension on April 22. Meanwhile, work continues Kimberly Reason, Public Information Officer for Sound Transit. People
on the Northgate Link extension, which is scheduled to go into ser- have been very hungry for these two stations to open and they have wait-
vice in 2021. Furthermore, the agency is laying out plans for its next ed through seven years of construction. In fact, we are testing expanded
wave of projects. service due to the ridership.

COVER 11
STORY
curve as you adjust to the soils, especially with a new machine, Gildner
said. But in this case we had this tricky crossing right out of the gate.
The crews were able to adapt quickly and complete the crossing success-
fully.
Northern Journey
Currently, Sound Transit is in the midst of constructing the North-
gate Link segment, which adds another 4.2 miles from the University
The tunnel boring machine (TBM) mining the tunnel that will
of Washington Station to the a new elevated station at NE 103rd Street.
serve northbound light rail trains to Northgate beginning in
2021 holed through the wall of its retrieval shaft at the Univer- Northgate Link includes 3.6 miles of twin-tube tunnel and two under-
sity of Washington light rail station on March 30, completing ground stations. A $440 million contract was awarded to JCM, the same
one of two 3.5-mile tunnels for the Northgate Link Extension. joint venture that completed the U230 project. JCM is using the Hitachi
Zosen TBM from U230 and a Robbins EPB, which was recently used on a
The underground works of the University Link comprised twin run- project in Singapore, to complete the bores. To date, five of the six tunnel
ning tunnels, two underground stations and 21 cross passages. The work drives have been completed.
was broken into two contracts: U220, which runs from the University of About 3,800 ft of the tunnel alignment traversed under the Univer-
Washington to the new Capitol Hill Station, and U230, which runs from sity of Washington, which created a unique set of challenges for tunnel
Capitol Hill to downtown. construction. The school is renowned as a leading research institution,
U220 was awarded to the joint venture team of Traylor Brothers and and had strict limitations for noise and vibration during construction
Frontier-Kemper. It consists of twin 11,400-ft, segmentally lined, bored and operation to ensure that its facilities were not impacted.
tunnels with a finished diameter of 18-ft, 10-in., along with 16 SEM During construction, the contractor used rubber-tired vehicles in-
cross passages between the twin bores. NTP was issued in January 2010 stead of rail to reduce noise impacts. During construction of the Uni-
with contract completion in 2013. The JV used two Herrenknecht EPB versity Link project, we had some issues with the noise and vibrations as-
TBMs to complete the bores. sociated with using steel supply trains, said Don Davis, Sound Transits
U230 was awarded to the joint venture team of Jay Dee, Coluccio and Project Director for Northgate Link. With the rubber-tired vehicles, we
Michels Corp. (JCM). It consists of twin 3,800-ft, segmentally lined, bored had no noticeable vibration impacts when traveling under the campus.
tunnels, also constructed by EPB TBM. Because of the shorter length of To mitigate noise and vibration impacts during transit service, Sound
the tunnel, the JV elected to use a single Hitachi Zosen TBM to complete Transit is using floating slabs along the invert of the tunnels under
both tunnel bores. Also included is five cross passages. campus. Basically the floating slabs are precast concrete structures that
One of the significant challenges associated with the University sit on natural rubber pads, resulting in a sort of shock absorber. In antici-
Link project was the crossing of Interstate 5, a major north-south ar- pation, Sound Transit tested a 400-ft prototype floating slab on the Uni-
tery traversing Seattle. Construction of the highway included large versity Link system. The university is a world-class institution and it is
diameter drilled piles that were situated along the tunnel horizon. In vital that we do not interfere with the sensitive research they conduct,
advance of the tunnel drives, Sound Transit in coordination with the said Joe Gildner, Sound Transit Project Director for University Link. As
Washington State Department of Transportation removed the foun- a result, we made the investment to install state-of-the-art floating slabs
dations in the tunnels path. The TBM passed under the highway with in our tunnels.
a shallow cover (15 ft), necessitating a thorough instrumentation and Unlike the University Link segment, Northgate Link traverses a sec-
monitoring program. tion of hard glacial till. Crews were able to successfully navigate through
The drive from the University of Washington station to Capitol Hill the till on the first of two drives, with the final drive remaining. Typical
also included a crossing of Montlake Cut, a manmade shipping channel, reaches for both University Line and Northgate Link include glacial soils
with about 8 ft of cover. The interesting aspect of the crossing was that it comprising sands, clays and scattered boulders under the water table.
occurred just 200 ft into the drive. In addition to the mainline tunnels, cross passages were needed every
Normally it takes a few hundred feet to get through the learning 800 ft as part of both the University Link and Northgate Link projects. A

12 COVER
STORY
total of 21 cross passages were built on the University Link project, with
23 cross passages designed for the Northgate Link project. Cross pas-
sages are built using SEM techniques. In conditions where groundwater
is present, ground freezing is performed to allow excavation in a water-
tight zone.
Contracting Approach
For its tunneling and underground contracts, Sound Transit uses
conventional design-bid-build contracting, which the agency and the
contracting community are comfortable using. Based on its previous
The Beacon Hill station and tunnels project was Sound Tran-
experience, the Sound Transit has adjusted its approach to some aspect
sits first major underground project.
of the work. For example, the Beacon Hill station and tunnels project,
the first major underground project the agency awarded, included both separately from excavation work.
excavation and systems finishing work (power, tracks, communitaction, Typically heavy civil contractors are not as well versed in finishing
etc.). In its subsequent contracts, Sound Transit has bid finishing work contracts, which can involve a large number of subcontractors working
MAJOR TUNNEL CONTRACTS AT-A-GLANCE

Northgate Link: N125 Roosevelt/Brooklyn Station Excavation, University Link: UW to Capitol Hill (U220)
TBM Tunneling North Portal to UWS Contractor: Traylor/Frontier-Kemper JV
Contractor: JCM (Jay Dee Contractors, Frank Coluccio Construc- Design Team: Northlink Transit Partners (AECOM, HNTB &
tion, and Michels Corp.) McMillen Jacobs Associates JV)
Design Team: McMillen Jacobs Associations Contract Amount: $309,175,274
Construction Management: North Star (CH2M and Jacobs Proj- NTP: January 2010
ect Management Co. JV) Completion: June 2013
Contract Amount: $440,321,000 Construction Management Consultant: Seattle Tunnel and Rail
NTP: 2014 Team JV (CH2M and Jacobs Engineering)
Estimated completion: 2021
University Link: Capitol Hill to Pine Street (U230) Central Link: Beacon Hill Tunnels and Station
Contractor: JCM (Jay Dee Contractors, Frank Coluccio Construc- Contractor: Obayashi
tion, and Michels Corp.) Design Team: Mott McDonald/Jacobs Engineering
Design Team: Northlink Transit Partners (AECOM, HNTB & Construction Management: PB Construction Services
McMillen Jacobs Associates JV) Contract Amount: $279,964,000
Construction Management Consultant: Seattle Tunnel and Rail NTP: June 2004
Team JV (CH2M and Jacobs Engineering) Completion: July 2009
NTP: January 2010
Contract Amount: $153,556,000
Completion: April 2013

14 COVER
STORY
Here, JCM crews assemble the Robbins TBM for launch on the
Northgate Link project. (Photo: The Robbins Company.)
on various aspects of the work, Gildner said. To help streamline pro- Future Work
cess, we awarded separate finishing contracts using a GC/CM approach. The East Link segment, which recently broke ground, is a 14-mile
In the University Link project, Sound Transit separated the work into extension from the International District/Chinatown station south of
two contracts. For the Northgate Link, however, the work was bid under downtown to Redmond. The segment is mostly above ground, except
a single contract to help minimize the interface between contractors. for a short tunnel below downtown Bellevue.
Additionally, the agency allowed the use of refurbished TBMs for North- Guy F. Atkinson Construction was awarded a $121.4 million con-
gate after specifying new machines on the University Link project. tract to build the 2,150-ft SEM tunnel. The tunnel design team includ-
Since there quite a lot of TBMs available in this size range, we felt we ed Mott MacDonald, Jacobs Engineering Group, and HNTB. Construc-
could achieve substantial savings by allowing the use of refurbished mation is expected be completed by spring 2020.
chines, Davis said. During the bid process we were able to get seven com- Two other above ground segments Lynnwood Link and the Kent/
petitive bids, and I think part of that was allowing contractors the oppor- Des Moines Extension are currently under construction and are
tunity to use refurbished machines. We did, however, specify that certain scheduled for completion in 2023.
parts to be furnished as new, including main bearing and screw conveyor. Currently, Sound Transit is planning its next phase of projects. A
While Sound Transit tendered contracts using a low bid approach, ballot measure dubbed Sound Transit 3 (ST3) will go before voters
contractors were required to submit qualifications regarding key per- in the fall. A draft proposal outlining system expansion over the next
sonnel and equipment in advance. 25 years was recently opened for public comment, receiving more than
Sound Transit employs standard claims avoidance and risk mitiga- 34,000 responses. Sound Transit is in the process of incorporating
tion of contracting tools, namely a geotechnical baseline report (GBR), comments for a final plan for the November ballot.
disputes review board (DRB) and escrow bid documents. In addition to ST3 includes a number of potential tunnel projects, notably a Bal-
the DRB, Sound Transit has instituted an executive partnering ap- lard to Downtown segment that would include a new rail-only tunnel
proach which involves the contract parties meeting quarterly in advance downtown (the current downtown co-mingles bus and light rail). The
of the DRB meetings. This approach helps reinforce the commitment plan is expected to be finalized this summer.
to communication and shows that the people involved in the project are
respected in addition to the contract itself, Gildner said. Jim Rush is editor/publisher of TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine.

16 TECHNICAL
PAPER
Cement Grout vs. Chemical Grout:

from 6 to 10 microns while ultrafine cements
can have average particulate sizes of 3 to 5 mi-
Which One to Use, When, and Why

crons. US Grout in Malad, Idaho, can provide
custom blended cementitious grouts meeting
project specific requirements. A grouts ability to
By Britt N. Babcock, P.E. penetrate a rock fissure largely depends on par-
Used on a myriad of new and rehabilitation vide grouting and installation recommendations ticulate size whereas its ability to permeate a soil
construction projects, cementitious and chemi- and a knowledgeable grout supplier, like Avanti is also dependent upon surface tension within
cal grouts share a common category and name, International, should be consulted to assist with the grout. A cements rheology, which is the
but the distinct differences far outweigh the proper grout selection. grouts ability to flow, is accomplished through
common qualities. Both grout types are used in the control of the water/cement ratio and almost
civil applications ranging from sewer pipe reha- Grout Family and Subtypes always a superplasticizer is added to reduce vis-
bilitation to new tunnel or shaft construction, Grouts used in civil construction and rehabili- cosity. While additives can be added to slow the
used to fill narrow cavities/cracks, rock fissures tation projects can be generally categorized into cure time, once mixed with water, cement grouts
or to permeate soils for the control of groundwa- either a cement or chemical grout. Within each will begin to cure and create high compressive
ter, void filling or to increase structural support grout family, there are primary grout subtypes: strength. Once injected, cements are considered
of the geology. Although cement and chemical within the cement grout family, ordinary Port- long-term solutions for either water control or
grouts can differ in composition, application and land cement and ultrafine cements define these structural improvement having lifespans rang-
cost, they are ultimately complementary prod- subtypes. The chemical grout family includes ing between 100 to 200 years. Ordinary Port-
ucts on the same projects. This paper will explore sodium silicate, acrylic gels and polyurethane ex- land cement costs (mixed) will typically range
when and why to use the various types of grouts pansive foams. Although each parent grout type between 1 and 2 dollars a mixed gallon while
and the cost range of each product. has primary grout spawns, this is where the com- microfine/ ultrafine cements costs (mixed)
The practice of injecting grouts and the wide monalities end and the individual grout types will typically range between 3 and 4 dollars per
array of grout products available can make split into their own unique characteristics. mixed gallon. These costs can further reduce
choosing the right grout for the project compli- Cement grouts are considered to be suspended when higher water/cement ratios are employed.
cated. Because its difficult to summarize the solids grouts, because they have particulates that The primary types of chemical grouts (sili-
complexity of the topic into a single paper, some comprise their composition which is derived cates, acrylics and polyurethanes) are each
specific topics within this paper have been gener- from grinding Portland cement clinker. The unique in composition. Although its truly a
alized for simplicity. If a situation exists on your level of grinding effort applied to the clinker de- suspended solids grout, because the particulates
project where grout injection is required, a quali- termines the average particulate size. Portland are so small sodium silicates have a high degree
fied grouting contractor and an experienced cement grout generally has particulate sizes on of penetrability into soils and rock, very similar
grouting consultant should be engaged to pro- average of 15 microns. Microfine cements range to the true solution grouts, which have no sus-
Cement and chemical grouts

are effective in a range of
ground conditions.

TECHNICAL 17
PAPER
of an acrylamide is estimated to be greater than pected to occur, the engineer of record or grout-
300 years while an acrylate is estimated to be ing consultant will have prepared a grouting pro-
approximately 50 years. The cost of acrylamide gram defining which type of grout is planned.
gel will typically range between 6 and 8 dollars In some cases, however, the need for water con-
per mixed gallon while acrylates are slightly trol or soil stabilization is not anticipated and a
more expensive, ranging between 8 and 10 dol- grouting program is developed quickly. The type
lars per gallon. of grout material used for injection for an imme-
There are two primary types of polyure- diate need generally runs through a trial-and-er-
thane grouts defined as hydrophilic and hy- ror process. Because of the economic advantage,
Grouts and gels can be used to create drophobic. Hydrophilic grouts are typically Portland cement grout will often be the first at-
an effective, long-lasting water barrier,
single component systems that react with tempted. If geologic conditions wont accept the
as well as soil stabilizer.
water and cure to an expansive flexible foam Portland cement grout, then an ultrafine cement
pended solids. Sodium silicate is a two-compo- or non-expansive gel requiring a moist envi- grout will be utilized. If Portland or ultrafine ce-
nent grout that typically has very low viscosity ronment after curing. Hydrophobic expan- ments are successful, an acrylic resin like acryl-
but will often expunge water after gelling by a sive foams require little water to react, ap- amide will often not be employed.
process called syneresis. Sodium silicates can be proximately 4%, and easily withstand wet/dry Grouts are also used extensively in the re-
sensitive, bordering on unstable, when injected cycles. True hydrophobic foams, not requiring habilitation of deteriorating sanitary sewer
into any groundwater condition. With relatively water to react, also are available. Hydrophilic infrastructures, concrete dams or below-grade
short gel times, a few minutes to a few hours, so- foams expand 4 to 6 times their original vol- structures. Generally for these types of projects,
dium silicates are commonly used as temporary ume, while hydrophobic foams expand up acrylic gels and polyurethane foams are used.
solution for water control or structural support to 20 times original volume and may cure Both are used to seal leaking cracks and joints.
with an estimated life span of a few years. Lon- flexibly or rigidly. Most manufactures carry However acrylamide gel is predominantly used
ger life spans can be experienced with silicates polyurethane resins having NSF or UL certi- in the pipeline system whereas the polyure-
depending on the chemistry of the soils. Sodium fications approving use in potable water ap- thane foams are used in and around manholes
silicates typically range between 2 and 3 dollars plications. The life span of polyurethane foam and vaults. Where voids have occurred behind
per mixed gallon. is estimated to be approximately 75 years. The below grade structures, the highly expansive
Colloidal silica grout was developed to re- cost of polyurethane resins (before expansion) polyurethane hydrophobic foams are com-
duce the issue of syneresis with sodium sili- will typically range between 60 and 80 dollars monly used to fill the void. Some specially de-
cates, to provide better control of gel times per gallon, uncured. It should be noted that the signed polyurethane foam is also used for the
and achieve a lower viscosity. Colloidal silica cost of polyurethane foams reduce drastically lifting of concrete slabs, which provides struc-
grout is prepared in a multiple step process when one factors the expansive component of tural support by using a lightweight solution
where a silicate solution is partially neutral- the material into the overall costs. that wont promote additional slab settlement.
ized, leading to the formation of silica nuclei. Cured structural foam weighs approximately
Colloidal silica has the same expected life span Applications When & Why 4 lbs pounds per cubic foot compared to much
as sodium silicate, but because of the multiple Cement and chemical grouts are used in a heavier mudjacking material.
step process for development, prices are con- wide variety of construction projects ranging When faced with the need to stop leaks, stabi-
siderably higher, ranging from 13 to 15 dol- from new construction to rehabilitation. For lize soil, or control water, it is recommended that
lars per mixed gallon. example, Portland and ultrafine cement grouts a qualified grout consultant and grout injection
Acrylics are defined as true solution grouts, are predominantly used to stabilize soil and/or contractor be engaged to provide installation
which are free of suspended solids and have ex- control water in civil projects including earthen recommendations and a knowledgeable grout
tremely low viscosity similar to water. The dams, levees, mines, tunnels, subways, vertical supplier should be consulted to assist with proper
acrylic family consists of acrylamide and acry- shafts, below-ground structures or waste encap- grout selection.
lates. Each type requires a base resin to be mixed sulation. These types of large-scale projects will
with a catalyst in order to create a gel matrix often require significant volumes of grout to Britt N. Babcock, P.E., is Director of the
within a soil or rock with a controllable gel time. be injected. Chemical grouts will often comple- Geotechnical Division at Avanti Interna-
Acrylamide changes from a liquid to a solid in a ment the cement type grouts and in some cases tional. Avanti International is a full-ser-
controllable gel time ranging from 3 seconds up will be the predominant grout used for a par- vice provider and an experienced sup-
to 10 hours. Acrylate gel times range from ap- ticular situation. plier of high-quality cement and chemical
proximately a minute to one hour. The life span On many civil projects where grouting is ex- grouts in the United States.

18 FEATURE
STORY
w ing
e ing w
Be e
T e
By Tom Minihan
dvancing a tunnel shaft is akin to an ar- Deep wells if the soils are permeable from It finds it easier to flow to the open excavation
cheological dig. The process is relatively top to well below the bottom of the shaft rather than abruptly turn 90 degrees and fight
slow with the support structure advanc- Vacuum-assisted deep wells for the same its way through the bore hole filter sand. Like a
ing plate by plate with the excavation. When the reasons but when sands are very fine or weather pattern, the excavated shaft is the low
shaft is completely above the water table this is a clayey pressure system and the ground water is the high
rhythmic process with few hiccups. Even if the Vacuum-assisted wellpoints if the shaft pressure system.
shaft is below the water table and the soils are is shallow, no more than 20 ft deep, or the Contingency planning when building a tun-
relatively uniform and permeable, the site can wellpoints can be benched down below the nel shaft construction schedule is usually de-
be dewatered to provide the same conditions as natural ground surface outside the shaft pendent on the construction easement. Usually
would be found above the water table. Eductor wells if the soil is very tight but will the easement doesnt allow the needed space to
However, if the shaft is below the water table drain install much of an exterior dewatering system.
and the soil structure is stratified, the tunnel Concrete soldier piles or a grout curtain in Because of this common fact, deep wells are
shaft is advancing against the grain and in very low permeability soils when the wet often chosen and drilled very close to the shaft
the wet, which presents critical problems. If wet soils wont drain freely. regardless of what the soil borings say. Unfor-
soil material is allowed to flow in at the dig level, If the soil is mostly stable and doesnt flow, tunately in stratified soils, deep well traits cater
voids will develop behind the shoring. This can sumps and vacuum-assisted wellpoints are effec- to logistics but not to the goal of dewatering the
result in soil piping, which can result in subsid- tive inside the shaft if there is room. shaft. Dewatering planning is critical to a suc-
ence. At its worst, the shaft could collapse or even In known stratified soils, the potential for be- cessful construction schedule and it is prudent to
flip in the excavation, resulting in possible injury ing stopped dead in your wet tracks has to be engage the help of a knowledgeable dewatering
to workers and ruining the site and surrounding faced before digging in the first ring of shoring. firm with a history of successful tunnel shaft de-
structures. At its best, the voids can be pumped The usual practice is to ring the shaft with deep watering projects for advice. The past successes
full of grout and serious damage avoided. But wells set close to the shoring to pre-drain the soil, should include projects that required quickly
inspectors dont take kindly to voids behind the hoping that the well bore hole drilled through adjusting to abrupt changes in soil conditions
plates, filled or not, and can shut the job down the strata will drain the water to the bottom of or to uncovered water sources like leaky water
until a plausible plan of action is created. the well. The fallacy is that the bore hole is not a mains or abandoned pipelines. Dewatering tech-
To avoid such possibilities, before the bid, hole because it is filled with filter sand. The sec- nique hinges on dealing with, and anticipating,
dewatering contingency plans should always be ond fact is that water will always take the path unknown conditions and quickly modifying the
included in the schedule. of least resistance. So, as the shaft is advanced system to address them. This includes contami-
The conventional dewatering remedies in- toward an impervious, usually clay, strata the nated ground water or water with naturally high
stalled outside the shaft include the following: ground water sees the shaft as a very large well. levels of soluble iron or calcium.

FEATURE 19
STORY
Assuming that the exterior dewatering

methods are not going to eliminate the ground
water threat, and soldier piles and grout cur-
tains are out of the question, the only remain-
ing remedies have to be installed from inside
the shoring. This can be done without taking
up much more room than the walers. Hope-
fully, accurate soil borings of the site exist that
show the elevations of the impervious strata,
the types of sands sitting on those strata and
the thickness of each water-bearing layer. If
there arent adequate soil borings drill some!
If you question the soil borings provided get
some more! Its good insurance. Knowing what
changes are coming up allows time to install the
dewatering system and avoid being stopped by
flowing water and mud. And, production ad-
vances steadily downward.
On sites with multiple impervious strata, a se-
ries of vacuum systems can be planned, each be-
ing installed through the shoring just below the
last impervious strata into the next water-bear-
ing layer. (See the figure.) The vacuum-assisted
wellpoints are installed at an angle through or
under the last ring of liner plates or boards. The connected to the same vertical pump casing. The abandoned in place. Each is very light and can be
collection piping or header can be set on a waler pump size has to be calculated based on the total shipped to the jobsite in a roll via overnight deliv-
or hung from the shoring. volume of water that will be pumped so that the ery services.
Usually vacuum-assisted systems are ham- vertical casing pipe can be sized large enough to In conclusion, with good information on the
pered by suction lift limitations. This is not nec- fit the pump. A 5-hp contractors style submers- site soil conditions, surrounding water shed in-
essarily the case when installing reclined vacu- ible pump will fit into an 8-in. PVC pipe, but a 15- fluences, existing utilities with potential leaks
um-assisted wellpoints into confined aquifers. hp contractors style submersible pump will need and easement limitations, a combination of
The trick is to install the water pump below the a 12-in. PVC riser pipe. There is no limit to the dewatering techniques can be planned well in
header line and the vacuum pump at the ground number of horizontal header systems that can be advance. Setting milestones in the schedule and
surface out of the way. This is done by installing connected to a vertical pump casing. a go, no go punch list will allow movement
a vertical PVC pipe from the top of the shaft to Multiple vacuum pumps or large single vac- from one contingency plan to the next without
the bottom. The header pipe at each layer is con- uum pumps can be used to draw more air for shutting down the schedule. Plan for the worst
nected to the vertical pipe as the shaft excavation greater effect. Using the vacuum pumps as air and hope for the best! Also, have dewatering
advances. An advantage of this method is that strippers also keeps them cool, reducing main- equipment stockpiled nearby. Better to pay the
the vacuum gauge reading can be very low, 5 to tenance requirements. Usually, two vacuum standby rental rate than to carry the whole job
8 in. of mercury (Hg). This allows the vacuum pumps combined will total 30 hp or less. This overhead during a shutdown while you wait for
pump to extract vapor from the confined aquifer type of dewatering system will not be a massive the equipment to arrive.
and create a lower pressure zone away from the burden on the project.
shoring outside the shaft. The suction tips of the To make this system even more appealing, Tom Minihan is vice president of Griffn
wellpoints have to be sitting in the deeper strata modern vacuum-assisted wellpoints are made of Dewatering. He has over 40 years of de-
at the bottom of the sandy soil like a vacuum flexible polyethylene piping with geotextile fab- watering experience and has designed and
cleaner wand. ric screen on an internal framework. This style manufactured dewatering equipment and
This can be done in multiple layers as the shaft is very rugged, takes up less room and operates installation systems, holding several pat-
is advanced with each vacuum header system very efficiently. Also, in most cases, they can be ents on air-water separation systems.

20 FEATURE
STORY
World Tunnel Congress
Attracts Record Crowd

in San Francisco
he World Tunnel Congress the International Tunnelling Associations
T annual conference, exhibition and general assembly hosted a record-

breaking 2,319 attendees from 54 countries April 22-28 at the Moscone
Center in downtown San Francisco, California. The 42nd annual gather-
ing was hosted and co-organized by the Underground Construction Association.
Hallmarks of the event include the technical sessions and the exhibit hall, where
companies have the opportunity to tout their equipment and services to the world.
The hall featured nearly 300 companies, which also set a new standard for a World
Tunnel Congress.
Conference organizers received 738 abstracts for consideration, with 353 peer-
reviewed manuscripts published. There were 185 podium presentations at the con-
ference, with 168 poster presentations.
TOP: A record 2,319 participants flocked to San Francisco for the

World Tunnel Congress.
MIDDLE: The 42nd ITA General Assembly, one of the hallmarks of WTC,
gathered member nations from across the globe.
BOTTOM: There were 298 exhibition booths on the exhibit floor.

22 FEATURE
STORY
TOP LEFT: The technical program is always a strong draw at the World Tunnel Congress.
TOP RIGHT: ITA welcomed Tarcisio Celestino, a civil engineer from Brazil, as its new president. Celestino, left, takes over for Sren
Degn Eskesen of Denmark.
BOTTOM LEFT: Members of the famous University of California marching band performed at the WTC opening ceremony.
BOTTOM RIGHT: The ITA Young Members Group met during WTC.
ITA activities are also a large component of the WTC with the meet- contribution of the Working Groups and Committees for the improve-
ings of the various Working Groups and the General Assembly, at which ment of design and construction techniques. By doing so and developing
representatives of the member nations discuss their activities and the the idea that underground construction is safe and reliable, we can also ex-
future direction of ITA. pect, as a consequence, to throw some light upon their licensing processes.
At the General Assembly, ITA welcomed Tarcisio Celestino, a civil engi- This has become a bottleneck in many countries, almost eliminating the
neer from Brazil, as its new president. Celestino takes over for Sren Degn advantages for faster and more efficient construction techniques.
Eskesen of Denmark. In other news, Naples, Italy, was selected as the site Other highlights of the event included the opening session that fea-
for the 2019 World Tunnel Congress, beating out contenders that included tured the Muir Wood Lecture, the annual keynote named after Sir Alan
London, U.K., Salzburg, Austria, and Istanbul, Turkey. Muir Wood, the first president of ITA. The Muir Wood Lecture was given
Regarding his upcoming term, Celestino said: The world population by Dr. Peter Kaiser, professor emeritus at Laurentian University in Sud-
will nearly double in the next three to four decades. This will bring a sig- bury, Ontario, on the topic of Ground Support for Deep Underground
nificant increase to the need for underground facilities which will have to Construction.
be designed and constructed, in addition to the current backlog. It is the This year the World Tunnel Congress took the place of UCAs North
role of ITA to indicate to government, decision-makers and the popula- American Tunneling (NAT) Conference, which is held biennially in al-
tion, that underground urban infrastructure is the correct way to go. ternating years with the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference
Looking at the past, we find out that effort and resources have been (RETC). The UCAs events return as normally scheduled next year with
spent in fixing mistakes like elevated transportation routes which were lat- RETC set for San Diego, June 4-7, 2017.
er on put underground. If we start it right, we will spend less to have better World Tunnel Congress 2017 is scheduled for June 9-15 in Bergen,
results than did the past generations. ITA also has to enhance its consistent Norway.

Megaprojects in Europe
24 FEATURE
STORY
&
BEST PRACTICE FOR
By Dipl.-Ing. Roland Herr

While Europe has been challenged in recent times with infrastructure in the fields of transport (railway, road and wa-
problems related to absorbing refugees, it has been successful ter ways), energy and communication technologies. Therefore,
in improving its infrastructure through the Trans-European there is a basic plan and also a core network plan for the most
Network for Transport (TEN-T). The worlds biggest infrastruc- important bottlenecks and cross-border projects.
ture project is simultaneously crossing geographic and political For transportation, there are nine European corridors,
borders, connecting economic markets and trade mega centers east-west and north-south, carrying freight as well as passen-
while combining different European cultures. gers. The cost of developing European infrastructure and to
The Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) has complete the TEN-T core network requires about 500 billion
become increasingly important since the establishment of the ($550 billion). Of this, 250 billion ($275 billion) will be used
European Union (EU), which was formally inaugurated on Nov. for removal of the main bottlenecks up to 2020. That means,
1, 1993. This politico-economic union has 28 member states main works on modal integration, interoperability and coor-
and enables free movement without border control and using dinated development of infrastructure - in particular cross-
the 1999 established EURO in 19 member states as legal tender. border sections and bottlenecks - are financially supported by
With this new integration, the idea of connected European Europe.
markets grew. One of the most important fundaments to realize The following gives an overview of the different corridors
that is the European investment in a modern high-performing and the core infrastructure projects in between these.

FEATURE 25
STORY
Italy to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean. The 64-km (39.8-mile) long

This 2,400-km (1,500-mile) long first corridor will provide better ac- Brenner Base Tunnel (the longest underground railway tunnel worldwide)
cess to Baltic and Adriatic seaports for the economic centers in Poland, and the Fehmarn Belt Crossing with a 17.6-km (10.9-mile) long immersed
the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. The main missing links are the tunnel are the most important key components of the cross-border bottle-
cross-border sections, the 27.3-km (17-mile) long, double-tube Semmering necks in this corridor.
(works started in April 2012 and operation will begin 2026) and the 32.9- The route starts at the Finnish-Russian border, passing Helsinki, Stock-
km (20.4-mile) long Koralm (construction started 2008 and 2023 operation holm and Malm arriving at the European mainland to continue to the
will begin) tunnels in Austria for the Alpine crossing. German seaports Hamburg and Rostock, following the major traffic flows
in the west of Germany via Hannover to the eastern part to Berlin and
Leipzig. Sections from east and west meet in Nuremberg to go to Munich,
The second corridor with the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea will be con- via the Brenner Base Tunnel to Verona. In Italy the corridor continues via
nected with the ports of the North Sea starting at the modern harbors on Bologna, Rome, Naples, the ports of Genova, Livorno, Bari and Taranto
the Gulf of Finland in Helsinki and Tallinn, passing the three Baltic States arriving in Palermo. The last section connects Italy with Malta via motor-
and northern Poland until Warsaw. The traditional east-west corridor to ways of the sea. Main projects like Oresund fixed link (bridge and tunnel
Lodz, Poznan and Berlin, ending in the ports of the North Sea coast, will be combined with two-track rail and four-lane road) between Sweden and
integrated. This corridor provides modern transport between Finland, the Denmark, as well as Milan-Rome-Naples high-speed line (with completion
Baltic States, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Especially of Bologna-Florence section) are under operation. The Fehmarn Belt Cross-
the cross-border operational systems for road and railway needs to be mod- ing will replace the existing bottleneck ferry line with the construction of
ernized and developed. a new immersed rail and road tunnel under the 19-km (11.8-mile) wide
Fehmarn Strait between Puttgarden in Germany and Rodby in Denmark.
The about 3,000-km (1,860-mile) long third corridor links major Eu-
ropean areas with high-speed trains from the western Mediterranean re- This sixth, north-south corridor is one of the busiest freight routes in
gion up to the Ukrainian border with Hungary following the coastlines Europe, connecting the North Sea ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam via
of Spain and France, crossing the Alps to the east through Italy, Slovenia Switzerland to the Mediterranean Basin in Genoa and some major eco-
and Croatia. One of the well-known missing links is the new 140-km (87- nomic centers in western Europe. The multimodal Rhine-Alpine Corridor
mile) long cross-border rail link between France and Italy, Lyon-Turin, (including the Rhine basin) also provides connections to several east-west
with eight tunnels totaling 86 km (53 miles). Challenges with this corri- axes. In between this corridor are some main missing links to close: the
dor include the coexistence of two different gauges. In 2008, the 621-km bottlenecks in Germany and Italy with required upgrade of capacity, better
(386-mile) long high-speed line opened between Madrid and Barcelona, interconnection between Belgian and Dutch to German networks (Emm-
reducing travel time from 5 to 2 hours 38 minutes and changed traveling erich-Oberhausen), progress of access routes to Swiss Tunnels on European
from air and road to railway. Union Territory (Karlsruhe-Basel and Milan-Novara). Latest 2020 flat tra-
jectory for rail freight through the Alps will be possible because start of op-
eration at Gotthard and Ceneri Base Tunnels (15.4 km (9.6 miles) long). The
The Orient/East-Med Corridor, running northwest-southeast, opti- 143-km (89-mile) long two-track railroad Betuwelijn between Rotterdam
mizes the use of the ports and the related motorways from Central Europe harbor and the German border has been in operation since 2000. The 35-
with the maritime interfaces in the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean km (21.7-mile) railway Ltschberg Base Tunnel of the AlpTransit Project
Seas. This corridor use rivers like the Elbe and provides a link to Cyprus. In (Switzerland) is actually the worlds longest passenger and freight land tun-
this corridor is still a lot to do on building or upgrading multimodal con- nel. Also part of the AlpTransit Project, but still under construction, is the
nections between Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Cross-border 57-km (35.4-mile) long railway Gotthard Base Tunnel with planned start of
traffic management systems on rail and inland waterways are to be imple- operation end of 2016.
mented on many sections.
For the continuity of the Lisbon, Madrid, Paris and Strasbourg/

The fifth and longest of the core network corridors is a crucial axis for Mannheim network, this seventh diagonal corridor links the high-speed
the European economy and links the major urban centers in Germany and and parallel conventional rail lines of the Iberain Peninsula with France and

Megaprojects in Europe
26 FEATURE
STORY
Overview of the TEN-T core network (Photo: BBT SE)
Germany. The idea of this corridor is to move the freight transport between Belfast and Dublin or Dublin and Cork, being developed
from road and air to railway. In this corridor the connection of all under the DART project.
the different ports is crucial. Main missing links are between Lisbon In 2010, this corridor began operating Europes first cross-bor-
and Madrid, Porto and Valladolid, and San Sebastian and Bordeaux der, high-speed passenger rail service, connecting Belgium, France,
both road and railway. In June 2011, the Tours-Bordeaux high- Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (London-Brus-
speed rail line started operation as a public-private partnership (P3) sels-Amsterdam-Cologne-Paris). The Channel Tunnel is an impor-
project financed with help of the European Investment Bank. This tant part of this cross-border connection moving from air and road
was the first high-speed rail line P3 ever signed in France. to rail. Also under operation are high-speed lines between Lyon and
eastern France, Switzerland and Germany. A second phase with 50
km (31 miles) of construction started 2014.
The eighth, multimodal North Sea-Mediterranean Corridor
stretches from Ireland and northern United Kingdom, via the
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, to the Mediterranean Sea This main east-west ninth corridor is linking all continental Eu-
in southern France, offering better services for freight as well as for ropean countries along the Main and Danube Rivers to the Black
passengers. This corridor utilizes a lot of waterways as part of the Sea by improving high-speed rail and inland waterway intercon-
concept, e.g. Seine-Scheldt, Rhine-Rhone and Canal Seine-Escaut. In nections from France and Germany to Austria, the Czech Republic,
Ireland and the United Kingdom rail connections still missing, e.g. Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

FEATURE 27
STORY
Main missing links are the cross-border rail network interconnections between Germany
and its neighbors France, Austria and the Czech Republic. Also needed to be removed are
bottlenecks between Austria and Slovakia, and in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Between the northwestern European basins and the southeastern Black Sea, the main inland
connection between Rhine, Main and the Danube represents the backbone of the inland wa-
terways: here is especially on the waterways in the eastern regions still some work to do. In
Austria and France, several rail sections have been upgraded.
Connecting all member states of Europe means to connect daily life of all Europeans. This
only can work if different local markets and structures are linked to each other. To solve the
demand of connecting infrastructures, the nine corridors as part of the TEN-T multimodal
core network are built on the decisions of the European transportation policies of the past
and also of tomorrow. Violeta Bulc, European Commission-
The new TEN-T (Trans-European Network for Transport) has been in effect since 2014 er for Transport (Photo: Roland Herr)
and includes a number of challenges. Among the major cross-border projects in the upcom-
ing 10 years are the: Brenner and Lyon-Turin railway base tunnels through the Alps, the rail-
road crossing of the Fehmarn Strait in the Baltic Sea, the new railway line linking Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania, and the new Seine-Scheldt inland waterway connection. Apart from
these major missing links, there are other important cross-border projects, such as Evora-
Merida, Ghent-Terneuzen, Trieste-Divaa, Karlsruhe-Basel, Gyr-Maribor, Brno-Vienna-
Bratislava-Gyr, Biarritz-Bergara, Marktredwitz-Cheb.
The main cross-border projects on top of the agenda of the European Commission, mem-
ber states and relevant promoters require enormous financial, political and administrative
investment. Preparatory activities like route alignment, environmental and geological as-
sessments, decision-making on organizational set-ups and financing, permitting and con-
tracting procedures and more have taken considerable cost and efforts to date, and the po-
tential benefits of TEN-T make a strong case for future investment.
One of the challenges to constructing the infrastructure involved with TEN-T is, of
course, project financing. The need to involve private financing in our projects is becoming
more and more important as we look to optimize financing in the different core projects,
said Carlo Secci, European Coordinator of the Atlantic Corridor. He added that financing
would encompass all potential sources, including project-financing funds from the Euro-
pean Union, e.g. the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) from the European
Investment Bank.
Procurement also presents challenges for construction, particularly for the cross border
projects. The problems are very clear, but not the solutions, said Kurt Bodewig, European
Coordinator of the Baltic Adriatic Corridor. Measures discussed to facilitate procurement
include simplifying procurement rules, standardization of procurement and legal seat inde-
pendent from the participating countries.
Dipl.-Ing. Roland Herr is an international freelancing journalist and author,

with particular emphasis on Europe and Southeast Asia. He can be reached at
herrroland@t-online.de.
28 FEATURE Tight work space: Crews were challenged by unique situations un-
STORY
derground, as well as very restricted access above ground.
Microtunnel Project Overcomes Macro Challenges

DC Waters First Street Tunnel to Help Alleviate Flooding
By Jim Rush
The Clean Rivers Project in Washington, in.) and tightly constricted working area all con- to mitigate flooding in the area.
D.C., is a $2.6 billion program that will help im- tributed to the demands of the project. One of the challenging aspects of the First
prove water quality in the Potomac River and Street Tunnel project is the close interaction
its tributaries when its massive tunnel program First Street Tunnel with neighborhood in this densely populated
is completed by 2022. The project includes 13 The construction for the First Street Tun- neighborhood. DC Water did its best to lessen
miles of 23-ff ID concrete lined storage and nel includes about 2,700 lf of 20-ft ID tunnel impacts on area residents and businesses dur-
conveyance tunnels, as well as shafts and relat- approximately 80 to 160 ft deep; three drop ing construction.
ed infrastructure. shafts, three adit connections, four diversion A $157 million design-build contract was
The Clean Rivers Project includes several chambers, and a 6 mgd pumping station housed awarded to a joint venture of Skanska-Jay Dee
large-scale tunnel projects, including the Blue in a fourth below-grade shaft. The four shafts in October 2013 with completion scheduled
Plains Tunnel ($330 million), the Anacostia range from 20 to 65 ft. in diameter with invert for 2016.
River Tunnel ($253 million) and the First Street depths ranging from 100 to 160 ft below the
Tunnel ($157 million). The Northeast Boundary ground surface. The three adits range from 20 Adams Street Adit Microtunnel
Tunnel the programs largest in terms of foot- to 400 ft. in length and are 8 to 10 ft ID. The in- The First Street Tunnel project included the
age has yet to bid. vert depths for the diversion chambers are 25 to construction of three adits to convey flows into
It is interesting to note that with all the com- 35 ft below the ground surface. the mainline tunnel. To minimize impact on
plications of building massive tunnels within a The First Street Tunnel is unique in that is residents, the adits were constructed via under-
bustling urban setting that perhaps one of the was fast tracked in response to severe flood ground construction methods. Two of the three
most complicated portions of the job was an adit. events that occurred in summer 2012 in the adits were short and were built using ground
Built as part of the First Street Tunnel, the Adams Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighbor- freezing in conjunction with roadheader excava-
Street Adit involved a short run of microtunnel hoods. As a result of a task force recommenda- tion. The excavation used shotcrete as initial sup-
completed under very challenging and unique tion, the First Street Tunnel design and con- port with a final concrete lining.
circumstances. The depth (100 ft), diameter (104 struction schedule was significantly accelerated One adit, however, spanned approximately
The shaft limited diameter of the shaft was necessitated by the proximity to homes in FEATURE 29
the area. In the control cabin are Andreas Thiele, mts, and John Hrehra, Jay Dee. STORY
370 ft and required an alternative approach. This adit began at a drop shaft at was enclosed within a noise-dampening structure. Additionally, restricted
the corner of Adams Street NW and Flagler Place NW and followed the Ad- work hours and limited lay-down area for equipment and materials posed
ams Street right of way eastward to the mainline tunnel under First Street. logistical challenges.
The Skanska/Jay Dee team, in conjunction with WSP-Parsons Brinckherhoff, One of the more unique aspects of the project was the presence of the de-
the consultant for the design-builder, decided that microtunneling offered aeration chamber at the base of the shaft. This facility was a horseshoe-shape
the best solution. chamber approximately 75 ft long excavated through frozen ground from
Given the tight jobsite conditions and the ground conditions we expect- the shaft along the same alignment and depth as the microtunnel. Because
ed to encounter, it was determined that TBM-type tunneling was the best the dimensions of the chamber were larger than that of the microtunnel, that
way to go, said AG Mekkaoui, project manager for Jay Dee. Considering meant the MTBM had to be jacked through the chamber before it could begin
that dewatering was not allowed along the alignment and the tunnels prox- excavating. Crews jacked 7 pipe segments to get the MTBM though the cham-
imity to buildings, a pressurized face machine was needed to minimize the ber and to the excavation face.
risk of settlement. Once the machine was jacked through the chamber, excavation com-
Jay Dee performed the microtunneling work for the joint venture using menced. But crews were faced with another challenge on the receiving end
its mts Perforator 2000M3 20C Microtunneling System with mtsSlurryTec, where the microtunnel dead-ended at the mainline First Street Tunnel. Here,
which the company had purchased for a project it completed in Cincinnati, the MTBM needed to proceed through the already-constructed segmentally
Ohio. The slurry mts Perforator system included power pack, jacking unit, lined tunnel and recovered from within the tunnel.
automated bentonite lubrication system and TACS guidance equipment. The In preparation of the reception, crews created a grout block in frozen
machine, with a cutting diameter of 104 in., was used to install 84-in. ID con- ground on the outside of the mainline tunnel and precut a reception ring in
crete jacking pipe. Originally built in 2008, the MTBM was updated with the the mainline tunnel. In the mainline tunnel, which has a diameter of 20 ft,
latest in guidance and operator controls by mts Perforator prior to launch. crews constructed a concrete pad on which the MTBM would come to rest.
The shaft was constructed using ground freezing and conventional exca- Crews then grouted a block of the mainline tunnel roughly 10 ft on either side
vation and concreted from the bottom up. The shaft, at the intersection of of the alignment to create a sealed environment for the MTBM.
Adams and Flagler, reached a depth of 100 ft and was limited to a diameter As the machine mined through the pre-cut tunnel wall into the grout
of about 20 ft due to the narrow right of way and proximity to homes. Mak- block, the area outside of the mainline tunnel was grouted to seal off any
ing the shaft even more constricted was the fact that it included a concrete ground water. Then crews began to expose the machine by tearing down the
structure that will serve as a permanent ventilation structure for a deaeration lean concrete reception block. Once exposed, the MTBM was lifted off the
chamber situated at the base of the shaft. The narrow shaft meant that precise concrete pad, transported to a trailer, and carried out to the main work shaft
handling of the pipe segments as they were lowered into the shaft was a must. near the intersection of First Street and Channing Street.
Expected ground conditions included sand and gravel with some fines be-
low the groundwater table. Successful Completion
With the variety of unique challenges facing the crew, planning and prepa-
Challenges Abound ration were of the utmost importance. It took a tremendous effort, but ev-
Due to the residential environment and the proximity of the houses to the erything worked out, Mekkaoui said. The owner was also of great help. They
jobsite, special measures were taken to minimize the impact on residents. The were flexible and able to extend work hours during the critical portion of the
entire jobsite area was enclosed by chainlink fence, and was lined with sound- drive to ensure that the mining run was completed. Everyone involved pulled
absorbing materials. Some equipment, including the slurry separation plant, together and dealt with the conditions to the best of our abilities, and the end
30 FEATURE
STORY
result is that we completed the run successfully.

Andreas Thiele, an engineer for mts who was onsite for the MTBM update
and mining, said that the Adams Street Adit microtunnel was one of the most
challenging jobs he has been involved with. What was so interesting about
this project was all the unique and challenging aspects that came together, he
said. On a typical job you might see one or two unique aspects, but here you
had the combination of the constricted job site, the narrow shaft, the need to
jack the MTBM through an existing structure, and a reception into a grout
block within an existing mainline tunnel. It was a very interesting and very
challenging piece of work.
There are About 150 MTBMs and 300 thrust boring machines built by mts
Perforator ranging in dimension from 200 to 3000 mm diameter (8 to 118 in.)
in use worldwide. Mts Perforator is also able to provide service and upgrade for
Soltau MTBMs.
In the end, crews were able to complete the mining in less than one month.
The machine broke into the reception block on April 15 and the tail can recov-
ered through the main mining shaft on May 4. With completion of the micro-
tunneled adit, residents are one step closer to realizing the goal of reduced flood-
ing and a cleaner environment.
Helping to successfully complete the project were Andreas Thiele,
mts, Kaveh Talebi, AG Mekkaoui and Larry Urick, Jay Dee Contractors. Jim Rush is editor/publisher of TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine.
DC WATER MEGA PROJECTS

As part of ongoing improvements and to address a federally mandated de- Blue Plains Tunnel
cree, DC Water is implementing the $2.6 billion Clean Rivers Project to clean The Blue Plains Tunnel consists of 24,300 lf of 23-ft ID tunnel along with
the Potomac, and its tributaries the Anacostia River and Rock Creek. The the construction of 132-ft diameter dewatering shaft which will house a 250
projects will reduce CSOs by 96 percent. mgd pumping station to dewater the tunnel system and a 76-ft diameter
The first phase (Anacostia River Projects) is underway and involves con- screening shaft at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.
structing a massive underground tunnel system to store and convey captured The two shafts also serve as main access point for the tunnel construction.
combined sewage during intense storms, preventing most combined sewer Also included are: construction of 55-ft diameter drop shaft at the Main
overflows to the Anacostia River. These overflows will be reduced by 98 per- Pumping Station to serve as terminus point for the Blue Plains Tunnel con-
cent when the tunnel system is completed in 2022. The later phases will ad- struction; construction of a 50-ft diameter drop/overflow shaft at Joint Base
dress overflows to the Potomac River and Rock Creek. Anacostia Bolling (JBAB); and construction of a 55-ft diameter junction/
In total, there are approximately 13 miles of 23-ft ID concrete lined drop shaft at Poplar Point Pumping Station.
storage and conveyance tunnels, shafts, diversion chambers, overflow fa- A $330 million design-build contract was awarded to a joint venture
cilities, a dewatering pumping station and a replacement sewage pumping of Traylor/Skanska/Jay Dee JV in 2011. This project is substantially
station. complete.
Some of the major tunnel projects include:
First Street Tunnel
Anacostia River Tunnel The construction for the First Street Tunnel includes about 2,700 lf of
The Anacostia River Tunnel consists of approximately 12,500 ft of 23-ft 18.5-ft ID tunnel approximately 80 to 160 ft deep; three drop shafts, three
in diameter and located approximately 100 ft underground. The project in- adit connections, four diversion chambers, and a 6 mgd pumping station
cludes the following elements: Six drop shafts located along the alignment housed in a fourth below-grade shaft. The four shafts range from 20 to 65 ft.
to deliver captured CSOs to the tunnel and serve as access points for system in diameter with invert depths ranging from 100 to 160 ft below the ground
maintenance (diameters vary from 15 ft up to 75 ft); Installation of three di- surface. The three adits range from 20 to 400 ft. in length and are 8 to 10 ftID.
version chambers along the tunnel; and ventilation control facilities installed The invert depths for the diversion chambers are 25 to 35 ft below the ground
at the shafts. surface.
A $253 million design-build contract was awarded to Impregilo-Healy- A $157 million design-build contract was awarded to a joint venture of
Parsons JV in June 2013. Estimated construction completion is January 2018. Skanska-Jay Dee in October 2013. Completion is scheduled for 2016.
Q&A WITH GORD JOHNSTON 31
On March 29, 2016, Stan- Stantec are leaders in providing the full range of subconsultants, the inspection and inventory of
tec Inc. announced that it services to meet the challenges of our diverse cli- all state highway tunnels in 2015. Another area of
had reached an agreement ent base, and well be even better together. Addi- potentially significant growth is the need to eval-
to acquire MWH Global Inc., tionally, Stantec gains position as a global leader uate tunnels to assess vulnerabilities to acts of
bringing the combined firms number of employ- in water resources infrastructure while earning terrorism. Over the next 10 years, tunnel vulner-
ees to 22,000 throughout 400 offices worldwide. greater presence in key targeted geographies, in- ability assessments will become more prominent
It is another big move by consulting firms as they cluding the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, South if acts of terrorism continue to increase.
combine forces to expand service capabilities and Central America, Europe, and the Middle East.
and geographic footprint. To learn more, TBM What is your outlook on the interna-
asked Gord Johnston, Executive Vice President How do you view the landscape of tional tunneling market?
and Infrastructure & Business Leader for Water, consulting engineering market going The international marketplace for tunneling is
about the deal and how it positions Stantec for forward? Is the trend toward mergers difficult to handicap as there are numerous glob-
the future.
and acquisitions likely to continue? al variables that cause significant fluctuation in
Considering the infrastructure report cards the number of active projects. Economic insta-
Why merge? Please describe the for Canada and the United States, the consulting bility or uncertainty is likely the largest variable
goals of the acquisition and a sum- marketplace will see sustained growth. Growth in accurately predicting tunneling globally. The
mary of how the deal came about. may be dampened because of funding consid- three largest drivers for international tunneling
erations but the condition of infrastructure will projects are combined sewers/sewers, highways,
Given the similar cultures, brand and repu-
soon force heavy investment by various govern- and transit. Tunnel vulnerability assessments to
tation of both companies this acquisition is an
ment entities. The majority of existing infra- evaluate the risks associated with acts of ter-
ideal opportunity to connect both organizations
structure, whether buried pipe, roads or bridges, rorism will definitely also be a driver as noted
to provide new services to our current clients,
is reaching its design life and therefore the sus- earlier for North America. Population growth will
grow into new markets and geographies and to
tained growth in the consulting marketplace undergird the growth in tunneling opportunities.
continue to provide our employees strong career
will be compulsory. Another key feature in the Geographically, tunneling projects in places such
opportunities. All of these factors together ben-
landscape for the consulting marketplace is the as Abu Dhabi, Australia, Austria, England, Italy,
efit our collective shareholders.
continued growth in alternative delivery to facili- Kuwait, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore and
tate cost and schedule certainty and additional Switzerland will continue to keep tunneling in a
How were Stantec and MWH similar? funding sources through delivery methods like high-profile on the world scene.
How were they different? public-private partnerships.
We have some very similar shared values. It is likely that the trend of mergers in the last How is the tunneling/heavy construc-
Stantecs purpose is Creating Communities and 20 years will continue. The largest driver for merg- tion market changing? How is Stantec
the MWH purpose is Building a Better World. We ers is for firms to diversify to provide a growing positioned to compete?
clearly share a commitment to improving infra- complement of services for clients. Project fund-
The three most significant trends in the tun-
structure and the quality of life in communities ing and schedules have become so constrained,
neling marketplace are alternative project de-
around the world. MWH also brings capabilities more clients than ever are looking to a single firm
livery, greater contractor geographic footprints,
that are new to Stantec, including its Engineer- to provide all the services needed on an individual
and large contractors forming joint ventures to
ing and Technical Services group, which provide project to promote single-point responsibility.
pursue work. Alternative project delivery(APD)
water-related design services to key hydro-power,
methods that are becoming more common in
oil and gas, mining, and industrial clients. MWH What is your outlook on the tunneling the tunnel marketplace include design-build,
further contributes construction management, market in North America? public-private partnerships, and construction
program management, and management con-
The three largest drivers for the tunnel mar- management@risk. The four primary reasons
sulting business services related to water infra-
ketplace are population sprawl and the resulting for the implementation of these APD options are
structure. Within the construction field, MWH
growth in commuter rail (subways), regulatory cost certainty, schedule certainty, single-point
also has a significant range of capabilities, with
mandates for reducing combined sewer over- responsibly, and funding constraints. The greater
the majority being construction management at-
flows, and aging highway tunnels. These will reach of tunnel contractors is also a significant
risk performed on water-related projects in the
all support continued growth in the tunneling trend. This is prevalent in North America over
United States and the United Kingdom.
market. The most recent driver in the tunneling the last 10 years as evidenced by Bessac, Stra-
marketplace was the issuance of the National bag, Dragados and Obayashi, just to name a few
How does the addition of MWH give (highway) Tunnel Inspection Standards by the international contractors, mobilizing in North
Stantec a competitive advantage? U.S. Federal Highway Administration in 2015. America and winning major projects. The last
Water touches every part of life in a commu- That standard will promote the inventory and significant trend mentioned is joining of large
nity. As the world population continues to grow, inspection of highway tunnels all over the United tunnel contractors into joint ventures to pursue
increased pressure is being placed on already States along with a prioritization for refurbish- major projects. The likely reasons for this trend
stressed water supply sources. The need to be- ment of highway tunnels in critical condition. For are resource leveling, the spreading of risk over
come increasingly efficient in our water use is example, the State of Colorado Department of a larger entity, and taking advantage of unique
more important now than ever. Both MWH and Transportation awarded Stantec, along with key experience each contractor brings to the table.

32 FEATURE
STORY
Boring in Baltimore
Bradshaw Construction
Tackles Tough Rock
By Desiree Willis
Maryland-based contractor Bradshaw Construction Corp. had a com-

plex recipe on its hands: a series of four tunnels up to 1,200 ft long in ex-
ceedingly hard Baltimore gneiss that had proved too difficult for another
contractor years before.
The Citys Lower Gwynns Run Interceptor Phase II, a gravity sewer,
required good control of line and grade in highly variable hard rock that The sixth and last shaft at Baltimore Street required excava-
tion below multiple buried utilities that could not be taken off
tested up to 38,000 psi UCS.
line. The Rockhead holed through into a small window below.
The City of Baltimore has learned that they have extremely hard and
abrasive rock 45,000 to 50,000 psi rock is not uncommon. The rock often
tests in the 4.5 to 5 range on the Cerchar Abrasivity Index. Those condi- The initial tunnel support design was then upsized from a 60-in. di-
tions are exceptionally challenging for a pipe jacking or conventional TBM ameter to 72 in. to accommodate the larger machine size. If we went any
tunneling operation. The biggest challenge is the cutting tools: disc cutter smaller, we couldnt use the 14-in. cutters. At 60 in., it wouldnt have been
wear can be excessive and bearing failure can happen if the rock gets too possible, continued Bradshaw. Microtunneling machines are limited in
hard, said Lester Bradshaw, president of Bradshaw Construction. cutter size; they use 11-in. back-loading cutters that wouldnt have been
The struggles and triumphs during tunneling proved that the contrac- suitable for this application.
tors chosen method of excavation was indeed the right one, though tun- The variability of the rock was another reason for choosing the Rock-
neling itself was not easy. head: We were expecting the rock to consist of highly variable forma-
tions it could be incredibly hard in one spot and incredibly weathered in
A Project Years in the Making another. Thats why we went with a Double Shield model of the Rockhead.
The planned 36-in. diameter gravity sewer interceptor tunnels for the We knew we would be tunneling through mixed face and mixed reach rock
Lower Gwynns Run Interceptor were part of a consent decree to modern- conditions, and a conventional, un-shielded TBM with grippers couldnt
ize a section of sewer line running below some of the citys oldest and busi- be used in those sections, said Bradshaw Construction project manager
est streets, including Baltimore Street and Franklin Street. The first phase Todd Brown. We were looking for a different, less risky solution. Using a
of the interceptor project, built by another contractor, saw slow advance smaller diameter TBM with smaller cutters wouldnt work, and we werent
rates and struggles in hard, abrasive rock some five years earlier. Phase II confident that our 83-in. Mark-6 Jarva TBM would be up to the task in
consisted of four segments, totaling 2,500 ft in length, and individually loose soils and seamy rock.
measuring 395 ft, 260 ft, 1,200 ft and 650 ft. The longest 1,200-ft section The machine was shipped to the jobsite for launch from the northern-
traveled directly below active Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Railway lines. most end of the project in November 2014. Due to utility concerns, the
In addition, six shafts also needed to be built in various locations in order northern end of the project was sunk deeper to a depth of 55 ft, also allow-
to launch and re-launch the chosen tunneling machine. ing for an unsupported bore in solid bedrock. The entire tunnel project
ranged in depth from 18 ft at the southern end, to 55 ft, at its deepest.
Choosing the Excavation Method
The contractor turned to Robbins for a solution in tunneling through Urban Tunneling: Complex Site Prepa-
the predicted hard rock. When it comes to cutting rock, bigger is better. rations
We knew we wanted as big of a bearing capacity on our disc cutters as pos- Preparing the sites for TBM launch and recovery were also challenging.
sible but still needed to go as small as we could for the tunnel size. The 72- At the southernmost end the sixth and last shaft, which would serve as the
in. Rockhead came with a Heavy Duty (HD) cutterhead with 14-in. discs; tie-in shaft to the existing sewer system, required negotiating a maze of
the biggest cutter and bearing capacity we could get given the size of the mapped and unmapped utilities. The shaft sat on Baltimore Street, one of
tunnel, Bradshaw said. the busiest and oldest streets in downtown Baltimore.

FEATURE 33
STORY
In that main thoroughfare alone, we had a 12-in. water line, a 4-in. gas
main, and multiple duct banks for fire safety and communications to con-
tend with. The Verizon duct bank served as the main communication line
for the city, so it could not go out. We were faced with building a 32-ft di-
ameter shaft to recover a 60,000-lb machine below existing utilities, as well
as a cast-in-place manhole structure, all while maintaining service of the
existing sewer system, said Brown.
We had to rethink our plan. From the beginning, we had a window to
recover the machine, and we had to set our shaft up based on that plan, he
said. However when we started excavating we found that not all of the util-
ities were located according to that plan. To recover the machine, we wound
up needing to push the TBM out past the utilities in segments, turn them Despite a challenging excavation through hard rock and tran-
sideways 90 degrees, and slide each of them through different windows as sitional zones, the Robbins Double Shield Rockhead was able
we raised it to surface level.
to achieve up to 37 ft of advance in one 10-hour shift.
Due to the location of the shaft and a mix of soft ground and hard rock,
crews hammered the rock out with small excavators rather than using drill signed for a longer 1,200-ft run. We used a single muck car train with a tail
and blast. Excavation began in March 2015 and was completed in mid- tunnel in the shaft. The cycle time at that distance went well with one car,
August 2015, although it did not proceed full-time as tunneling was also and so we did one stroke per car. It took about the same amount of time
going on concurrently. The other five shaft locations were in rock and were to cycle muck cars through as it took it to re-grip, so there was not much
excavated by the drill-and-blast method. While most shafts were in indus- downtime, said Brown.
trial areas, vibration was still a concern and all shafts were closely moni- Advance rates reflected the range of obstacles encountered. In very com-
tored during construction. petent rock of moderate strength, crews were able to achieve up to 37 ft in
one 10-hour shift. However, significantly lower advance rates in decom-
Tough Tunneling below the Charm City posed rock zones, downtime for maintenance and installation of tunnel
Once the machine was launched on its first tunnel, the difficult nature supports produced an overall average rate for the project of 10 ft per shift.
of the rock became apparent. While most of the initial tunneling was able The final tunnel was completed on Sept. 18, 2015. As it was a 36-in. fi-
to be driven without adding ground support as bald tunnels, the rock berglass gravity sewer line, the pipe was set to proper grade and then back-
strength made it slow going. As transition zones were encountered in sub- filled in place using multi-stage, no aggregate grout. Due to a fly ash short-
sequent tunnels, cutter wear went up, even with the HD cutterhead and 14- age on the East Coast at that time, Bradshaw was required to engineer its
in. disc cutters, but this was expected. When we were transitioning from own cement bentonite grout for the last 20 percent of the tunnels, making
weathered rock into hard and massive rock, we would catch a shock load on the whole process a bit more involved.
the cutters that could chip them. There was higher wear on the gage due to
abrasivity, said Brown. Lessons Learned in Hard Rock
Steering was also a challenge in the weathered zones and production Despite the difficulties, the project was ultimately very successful, and
was significantly slower. Most of the tunnel was bald, but in the tran- the challenges made the job all the more rewarding. There are highly vari-
sition zones we had to go through and install ribs and lagging as tunnel able rock formations throughout Baltimore. We knew this from many
support to assist in propulsion of the machine through those sections, previous projects in the area. We wanted to maximize the good conditions
and to make the tunnel safe to work in. The front stabilizers could not and minimize the impacts from bad ground. Theres no perfect machine
grip the rock and the TBM wanted to drift up and to the right, so we out there that can bore in both very hard and very soft conditions. We felt
counteracted that by requiring rear thrust off of the temporary lining the Double Shield Rockhead was the best fit. We figured maximizing our
support. It was an interesting problem, said Brown. Several different performance in the 80 to 90 percent of the tunnel that was in hard rock
sections of ribs and lagging, ranging from 15 to 50 ft in length, were re- formations while going slowly through the weathered zones was the best
quired in these transitional zones. option. The true variability of the rock was the most interesting thing we
Liner plate was installed below the active railway line as part of the con- really didnt know what the next section of rock would be like, said Brown.
tractual requirement. The 1,200-ft crossing went smoothly despite the
logistics of the tunnel length at small diameter. Our ventilation was de- Desiree Willis is a technical writer at The Robbins Co.

34 TUNNEL
UPDATES
CALIFORNIA ager; Gary Baker, Deputy Project Manager; Metro Design Consultants: (AECOM/
Los Angeles PB JV), John Prizner, Project Manager; Bill Hansmire, Tunnel Design Manger;
Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project Metro Construction Manger Consultants: (Arcadis), Patrick Jolly, Construction
Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors Manager; Ron Drake, Technical Advisor; Contractor Project Executives (Re-
This $1.278 billion project for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transporta- gional Connector Contractors RCC: (Skanska) Mike Aparacio, Mike Smithson;
tion Authority (Metro), being built by a joint venture of Walsh and Shea, is (Traylor) John McDonald.
an 8.5-mile light-rail line that will run between the Expo Line on Exposition
Boulevard and the Metro Green Line. NTP was issued in September 2013 with Los Angeles
revenue service expected by October 2019. Westside Purple Line Extension Project Section 1
The projects consists of twin bore tunnels, about 1-mile long each, con- Skanska/Traylor/Shea JV
necting three underground stations. The tunnel is 21-ft OD (19-ft ID) and is NTP for the $1.6 billion design-build contract for the Los Angeles County
approximately 70 ft below ground. Ground conditions are soft ground/alluvial, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) was issued on Jan. 12, 2015.
leading to the choice of an EPB TBM. Tunneling operations are planned to begin in late 2017. The tunneling opera-
On May 7, Metro hosted a Halfway There celebration to make the halfway tions will be staged through the shoring box of the Wilshire/La Brea Station
midway point of the project. The Herrenknecht TBM Harriet began boring excavation. The drilling of shoring piles for the Wilshire/La Brea Station ex-
the first of two twin tunnels on April 27. cavation is underway. The Revenue Service Date per the Full Funding Grant
Parties affiliated with the project: TBM Manufacturer Herrenknecht (Ger- Agreement is Oct. 31, 2024.
many); Consultants: HNTB; Construction Support Services: Stantec; Tunnel En- The job involves 17,900 lf of twin-bore tunnel structure, 18-ft, 10-in.(5.74
gineering: Arup; Systems: L.K. Comstock; Structural Engineering: SC Solutions; m) ID, with 12-in. thick precast concrete lining. Reach 1 is 9,600 lf between
Community Outreach: Los Angeles Urban League; Civil Engineering: Jenkins/ Wilshire/La Brea Station and Wilshire/Western TBM retrieval shaft. Reach 2
Gales & Martinez; Electrical: Neal Electric; Quality Control: QEI; Survey: Psomas. is 4,400 lf between Wilshire/La Brea and Wilshire/Fairfax Stations. Reach 3 is
Key Project Personnel Deputy Executive Officer, Project Director (Metro): 3,300 lf between Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega Stations. The Tail
Charles H. Beauvoir; Interim DEO, Deputy Project Director (Metro): Kimberly Track is 600 lf at Wilshire/La Cienega Station. The project includes three sta-
Ong; RE (Metro): Dana Rogers; Project Manager (WSCC): Jim Gardner; Deputy tions and the western TBM retrieval shaft, as well as 23 total cross-passages.
Project Manager (WSCC): Dave Preston; Construction Manager (WSCC): Carl The tunnels are planned to be mined by two Herrenknecht Earth Pressure
Christensen. Balance Machines (EPBMs). Cross-passages are planned to be mined by the
sequential excavation method (SEM/NATM) using variety of localized ground
Los Angeles support systems.
Regional Connector Transit Project The shallowest part of the tunnel occurs at Wilshire/Western TBM Re-
Regional Connector Constructors (Skanska-Traylor JV) trieval Shaft. Tunnel crown is approximately 40 ft below surface. The deepest
The tunneling portion of the $927 million Regional Connector project for part occurs between Wilshire/La Brea and Wilshire/Fairfax Stations where the
the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority involves 5,795 tunnel crown is approximately 100 ft below surface.
ft of twin tunnels with an excavated diameter of 21 ft. The ground conditions The anticipated ground conditions include: Soft ground consisting of Pleis-
range from alluvium soils to silt stone of the Fernando formation with po- tocene-age (San Pedro) and Pliocene-age (Fernando) formations; Some allu-
tential for perched groundwater, methane, hydrogen sulfide gas, and possible vium deposits and artificial fill areas above the tunnel; Tar sands comprise
boulders. The groundwater table is generally above the tunnel alignment. EPB almost 25% of tunnel alignment; Expected water table up to 90 ft above tunnel
TBM tunneling is required using precast, concrete segments with double gas- crown; Presence of methane and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gases (tunnels are
kets as the tunnel lining system. The tunnel depth (cover) ranges from 25 ft deemed gassy by OSHA).
to approximately 100 et and crosses below the existing Metro Red Line heavy Parties affiliated with the project include Tunnel Designer: PTG/CH2M;
rail tunnels with less than 7 ft of clearance. NTP was issued July 7, 2014, with Construction Manager: WEST JV (Stantec/Jacobs Engineering/AECOM); TBM
project completion scheduled for May 29, 2021. Manufacturer: Herrenknecht; Precast Segments: Traylor; Support of Excava-
The Regional Connector includes approximately 2,100 ft of cut-and-cover tion/Piles: Condon Johnson; Jet Grouting: Malcolm Drilling; Geotechnical in-
and retained cut guideway and three cut-and-cover subway stations. The strumentation: Group Delta; Dewatering: Moretrench; Standpipe: Link Nielsen.
bored tunnels will pass through two of the cut-and-cover stations, requiring Key Project Personnel Dennis Mori, Executive Officer, Program Manage-
coordination of cut-and-cover and tunnel excavation. ment LACMTA; James Cohen, Deputy Executive Officer, Program Management
The TBM was shipped to the port at Long Beach began arriving on site in LACMTA; Ashok Kothari, Project Director, Parsons Brinckerhoff; Mike Aparicio,
April. Tunneling is expected to commence in September 2016. Executive Vice President, Skanska; John McDonald, Tunnel Manager, Traylor.
The downtown Los Angeles urban location of the Regional Connector pro-
vides challenges in the coordination of the project work with multiple third
parties. The Regional Connector will be the first tunnel subway project to con- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
nect to two operating rail systems at either end, the Blue Line on the south Washington
and the Gold Line on the north. First Street Tunnel
Other parties affiliated with the project Tunnel Designer for the Contrac- Skanska/Jay Dee JV (SKJD)
tor: Hatch Mott McDonald; Metros Construction Management Consultant: Ar- The $157,675,000 First Street Tunnel for DC Water is in the finishing stages.
cadis; TBM Manufacturer: Herrenkecht. Preliminary design was completed by The project consists of the drive of approximately 2,700 lf of 20-ft ID precast
PB/AECOM JV, which is also performing design services during construction. lined tunnel. The tunnel was driven with a Herrenknecht EPB TBM. The tun-
Key Project Personnel Metro Project Executives: Girish Roy, Project Man- nel was constructed in silty/clayey/sand conditions including the Potomac

TUNNEL 35
UPDATES
formation, with an invert depth ranging from 85 to 160 ft deep. The tunnel was Eisser; TBM Tunnel Superintendent: Larry Urick; TBM Construction Man-
driven from a construction shaft at the Channing Street site (near McMillan ager: Mina Shinouda; Tunnel/Shaft/Concrete Superintendents: Ryan Hirce,
Reservoir), which was constructed using slurry walls for temporary support, Karl Poss, Demetrius McClay, William Bracken, Martin Shuler, Luis Cancel,
and final liner for the permanent condition. The project also consists of two Andy Wolterman; Electrical Superintendent: Randy Moldenhauer; Equipment
drop shafts and one pump station shaft in the densely populated neighbor- Superintendent: Leroy Blue; Project Engineer: Thomas March; Section Engi-
hood of Bloomingdale, along with four diversion chamber structures and two neers: Dustin Mount, Bianca Messina, Ivan Hee, Thomas Costabile; Safety
utility structures, with depths ranging from 14 to 55 ft. The shafts are ap- Manager: Mark McGowan, Gerry Mendoza, James Summers; QC Manager:
proximately 21 to 24 ft ID, and about 80 to 105 ft in depth. The smaller shafts Brian McGuinness.
were excavated in frozen ground, and the support of excavation for the open
cuts is a combination of ground freezing, secant pile walls, and soldier piles
and lagging.
HAWAII
Kaneohe/Kailua
As of April 29, the project was in the home stretch with several key mile-
Kaneohe/Kailua Sewer Tunnel Project
stones reached. In terms of excavation, the TBM removal presented special
Southland/Mole Joint Venture
challenges as the drive was completed in a blind end (no removal shaft avail-
This $173 million project for the City and County of Honolulu, Department of
able), but has been successfully dismantled and removed. The mts Perforator
Design and Construction, Wastewater Division consists of 16,338 lf of tunnel
slurry MTBM, named Abigail, a completed its drive of approximately 300 ft in
(1,388 lf tunnel via roadheader, 14,950 lf of TBM Tunnel). The tunnel diameter
early April. While it was a relatively short drive, it presented significant chal-
is 13 ft with a 10-ft ID glass fiber reinforced pipe. The project includes two
lenges due to ground conditions, including a high percentage of in-situ clay
slurry wall shafts: one 87-ft diameter, 95-ft deep launch shaft (Kailua Site)
and 2.5 bars of water pressure. The MTBM mined successfully into a reception
and one 30.5-ft diameter, 54-ft deep receiving shaft (Kaneohe Site). Ground
chamber that was built within the recently constructed First Street Tunnel
conditions are basalt.
and has been extracted.
NTP was given Jan. 6, 2014, with completion scheduled by Jan. 9, 2017. Cur-
Two of the three adit-to-main tunnel connections were completed in this
rently, the project is 69% complete by duration. Milestones completed include:
period, having been mined in frozen ground using the sequential excavation
Excavation of launch shaft; Installation of slurry wall for receiving shaft; Tun-
method, and these connections were lined with reinforced concrete. On the
nel break out at Kailua TIPS Shaft; Tunnel break out at Kaneohe TBM Retrieval
surface, almost all major open-cut excavations have been completed at the
Shaft;
three satellite sites, with only minor excavation work remaining. The concrete
Completion of 600-lf TBM starter tunnel (conventional mining with road-
work at the open-cut structures is well underway, with over 50% of total esti-
mated concrete in place, and with concrete substantially complete at two of
the four diversion chambers. With the completion of excavations and installa-
tion of concrete liners, the ground freeze operations have ceased project-wide
and the system components are being dismantled and removed. Additionally,
with the completion of the MTBM drive and freeze operations, the gas gen-
erator plants are also being demobilized, with power now being supplied by
diesel generators. Electrical and mechanical components are currently being
installed at the Pump Station.
In the upcoming three months, the project is on track to finish construc-
tion at all four project work sites.
This project has presented multiple significant challenges, ranging from
technical to logistical to community concerns. Among these challenges are the
TBM and MTBM mining into frozen ground, extremely tight working areas af-
forded in the center of an urban residential community, very aggressive mile-
stones afforded the project, the dense network of utilities encountered - some
of which are over 100 years hold, the scarcity of craft labor with experience
in this work, and the managing of community relationships and expectations
during this period of heavy construction.
Ground freezing was used extensively for shaft and SEM adit excavation
support, and for the mining of the adit-to-main tunnel connections. Ground
freezing was also used for the excavation support of one of the open-cut walls,
and even as a frozen strut at the bottom of cut for this excavation. The freeze
system has been installed and managed by Moretrench and their team includ-
ing Greg Ziegler, Joe Sopko, Adam Curry and Tracy Thrasher.
Parties Affiliated with the Project Design: Parsons Brinckerhoff; Slurry
Wall Subcontractor: Treviicos; Ground Freezing: Moretrench; Pile Installa-
tion: Skanska Underpinning; TBM Supplier: Herrenknecht; MTBM Supplier:
mts Perforator
Key Project Personnel Project Executives: Gary Almeraris and Mike
DiPonio; Project Manager: Scott Hoffman; General Superintendent: Dudley

36 TUNNEL
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header); Completion of 14,000 lf TBM tunnel; Completion of 1,500-lf, 60-in. Super Excavators is approximately 50% done with rock tunnel, and has ap-
diameter microtunnel. Ongoing activities include TBM mining and proximately 1,000 ft remaining to mine. Crews have also completed 475 ft of
construction of several pipeline diversion structures. 90-in. steel casing under the UPRR for the North Gravity Sewer using a SL-74
Parties involved with the project include: Lead Designer: Wilson Okamoto MTBM, installed 475 t of 54-in. RCP inside the casing pipe and grouted in
Corporation; Tunnel Designer: McMillen Jacobs Associates; Construction Man- place. Crews also recently completed 42-in. hot tap work into existing force-
ager: Bowers and Kubota Consulting. Major Subcontractors: Layne Christensen main. Currently crews are working on restoration of Louis and Clark Landing,
Company (slurry wall & jet grout); J.F. Fowler (microtunnel); Brierley Associates and finishing tie-in work and final restoration work at the Leavenworth sta-
(Design Consultant); Hobas Pipe USA (GRFP Tunnel Pipe); TBM Manufacturer: tion. NTP was given in October 2014 and completion is anticipated for 4Q 2016.
Robbins Company. The project has been designed by HDR Engineering, Inc. The Construction
Key Project Personnel Tim Winn, SMJV Project Director; Don Painter, Manager (CM) is also HDR Engineering, Inc.
SMJV Project Manager; Bill Kominek, SMJV Quality Control Manager; Quang D. Key Project Personnel Vice President: Gregg Rehak; Project Managers:
Tran, SMJV Senior Project Engineer; Mike Young, CM Director. Mike Garbeth, Shawn Stockwell; Tunnel Surveyor: Mike Klement; General Su-
perintendent: Pete Forseth; Safety Manager: Steve Garlock; Environmental
Compliance Officer, Robert Greenburg; Master Mechanic: Jeff Tatum. Contact:
INDIANA mike@superexcavators.com.
Indianapolis
Deep Rock Tunnel Connector, Eagle Creek Deep Tunnel
Omaha
Shea-Kiewit Joint Venture
OPW 52297 (CSO) Nicholas Street Sewer Extension Phase II
The Deep Rock Tunnel Connector involves 42,000 ft of 20-ft, 2-in. diameter
Super Excavators, Inc.
bored tunnel with 18-ft finished concrete lining (approximately 250 ft deep).
This $19.8 million project for the City of Omaha Public Works Department
There are two bifurcations in the final alignment and three CSO connecting
includes 910 lf of 108-in. reinforced concrete pipe and 1,040 lf of 84-in. rein-
structures/ deaeration chambers and adits. The Eagle Creek Deep Tunnel com-
forced concrete pipe constructed by conventional tunneling methods; con-
prises 9,175 ft of 20-ft, 2-in. OD tunnel with 18-ft finished concrete lining. The
struction of 28 storm sewer and sanitary sewer tunneling work shaft pits;
Deep Rock Tunnel Connector was awarded for a contract price of $179 million
70 lf of 24-in. RCP and 4,850 lf of 24-in. VCP by guided boring machine; ap-
with the Eagle Creek Deep Tunnel added through a $32 million change order.
proximately 2,200 lf of 12- to 54-in. RCP by open-cut; bypass pumping; and
The work is for Citizens Energy Group as part of a CSO reduction program.
numerous connections to existing and new storm sewer and sanitary sewer
Tunnel lining consists of 12-in. thick cast-in-place concrete liner. Concrete
structures.
is pumped from the surface from various drop holes along the tunnel align-
Super Excavators crews have completed shaft construction and construc-
ment. The tunnel is cast using seven Everest 35-ft form sections. As of the
tion of the 24-in. VCP by guided boring for Phase A of this project. All of the
start of April, approximately 26,000 ft of tunnel has been lined, putting the
108-in. RCP, which was constructed by TBM tunneling, is also now complete.
lining operation just over 50%.
Open-cut work started in fall 2015 and was completed in March 2016. Guided
Subcontractors: Platt Construction Dick Platt; Steppo Supply & Construc-
boring work of the 24-in. VCP is now 75% complete. Currently, crews are work-
tion, Inc. Eileen Stepanovich; Acura Inc. Domenico DiGioia
ing on street/pavement restoration work, inlet tie-in work, and setting struc-
Key Project Personnel Construction PM: Stuart Lipofsky, P.E.; General Su-
tures at each shafts. Construction of two shafts, constructed by Lo-Dril, and
perintendent: Shannon Jennings; Assistant Project Manager/ Project Engi-
pump/lift station abandonment work remain.
neer: Percy Townsend; Safety Manager: Kyle Shickles; Equipment Superinten-
The project has been designed by Lamp, Rynearson & Associates. The Con-
dent: Keith Walter; Field Engineers: Eric Haacke, Zack Heinrich, Kendall Gadd,
struction Manager is also Lamp, Rynearson & Associates.
Chris Monahan, Max Engen.
Key Project Personnel Vice President: Gregg Rehak; Project Managers:
Inspection PM: Alex Varas, P.E. (AECOM), Assistant PM: Mark Guay (AECOM).
Mike Garbeth, Shawn Stockwell; Tunnel Surveyor: Mike Klement; General Su-
Citizens Energy Group Manager of Construction: Mike Miller, P.E.; Supervisor
perintendent: Pete Forseth; GBM Superintendent: Joe Koss; Safety Manager:
Technical Lead: Tim Shutters; Construction Supervisor: John Morgan.
Steve Garlock; Environmental Compliance Officer, Robert Greenburg; Master
Mechanic: Jeff Tatum. Contact: mike@superexcavators.com.
NEBRASKA
Omaha
OPW 52223 (CSO) South Interceptor Force Main North Segment NEVADA
and North Gravity Sewer Las Vegas
Super Excavators, Inc. Low Lake Level Pumping Station (L3PS) Project
This $21.5 million project for the City of Omaha Public Works Department Barnard of Nevada, Inc. (Barnard)
comprises 2,480 lf of 72-in. ID rock tunnel using conventional tunneling meth- In May 2015, Barnard entered into a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR)
ods, with ring and beam lagging, at approximately 100 vf; completion of two contract for the $440 million L3PS Project for the Southern Nevada Water
working shafts for the rock tunnel construction; construction of a 64-in. steel Authority (SNWA). The team began work on design completion of the under-
cased tunnel under UPRR tracks by auger bored tunnel method; and installa- ground work first. Barnards multi-discipline team worked with SNWA, con-
tion of two 84-in. steel casing tunnels under the UPRR Bridge embankment. struction manager Parsons Corp., designers MW/HILL (joint venture), and
Aside from tunneling, the project also includes: the installation of 42- and 48- other stakeholders to provide constructability, value engineering and cost
in. restrained joint force main installed by open-cut methods and supported estimate input during design completion for the shafts, cavern and 34 each
on piles; construction of a vault valve structure; blasting; vibration control pump well shafts. Once design and pricing were finalized, the underground
and monitoring; and soil stabilization by jet grouting. construction work began in September 2015. To date, work has progressed on

TUNNEL 37
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the excavation of the first 200 ft of the Access Shaft, including concrete final concrete lining as well as the shafts superstructure for the mechanical sys-
lining. Additionally, the pump well shaft drilling has begun. The first 3 each tems. Additional work at this location includes pre-excavation grouting of the
pilot holes, two large 8-ft diameter blind bore shafts, and installation of the shaft perimeter to reduce groundwater infiltration during construction and
first 6-ft diameter steel pump well casing have been completed. Concurrent temporary and permanent electrical installations. The Valve Chamber Struc-
with the underground construction, the above-ground pre-construction work ture is a multilevel reinforced concrete structure within the excavation near
continues with a focus on the pumping station, including design, constructa- tunnel portal, at the downstream end of the project.
bility and cost estimates. All work is estimated to be completed in 2020. Ancillary work includes a dual pipe connection between the tunnel and
The underground work includes: 525-ft deep x 26-ft diameter Access Shaft; multiple valves to control the release of water from the reservoir into Schoha-
bulkhead to allow for future expansion; 80-ft deep x 26-ft diameter Riser Shaft rie Creek. Additionally, a roller compacted concrete berm is being constructed
to connect to existing Intake No. 3 connector tunnel; 33-ft wide x 36-ft high x adjacent to the existing spillway to further contain water breaching the top of
400-ft long horseshoe-shaped Forebay Cavern; Forebay Connector Tunnel; and the dam during major storm events. The tunnels and shaft will be excavated
34 each drilled 8-ft diameter x 500-ft deep pump well shafts with steel-lined primarily in sandstone with some mixed-face conditions near the end of the
6-ft diameter casings. The above-ground pumping station and accompany- tunnel drives.
ing appurtenances includes: 34-each 30-mgd submersible pumps; valves and Currently, the Metro-E cutover of the DEP network is complete, ahead of
discharge headers; surge tanks, electrical controls and starting equipment for the required milestone. Other work that has taken place since NTP includes:
the pumps; electrical control building; electrical feed from an onsite substa- setting up the batch plant and water treatment plant onsite, building a berm
tion; and discharge aqueducts for connecting the new pump station to the in the creek to protect the portal excavation from a 10-year flood event, clear-
existing water treatment plants. ing trees from approximately 6.5 acres, geotechnical drilling, both on land and
Key Project Personnel SNWA: Marcus Jensen, Director of Engineering; in the reservoir, and Phase 1 excavation of the sites as well as equipment and
Erika Moonin, Project Manager; Parsons: Kevin Ulrey, Construction Manager; material mobilization including the Herrenknecht MTBM, which has a 9.5-ft
MW/HILL: Ted Davis and Steve Hunt, Lead Engineers. diameter and is designed for 5 bar of pressure. Upcoming work includes the
Barnard: Operations Manager, Dan Schall; Project Manager, Jordan Hoover; completion of the curved retaining wall at the Gate Shaft, Soil-Nail Wall and
Project Superintendent, Ken Quintana; Chief Engineer, Brad Bush; Construction O-pile installation at the portal and pre-excavation grouting at the Gate Shaft.
Superintendent, Andy Granger; Superintendents, Engineers, and Safety: Tyler Due to environmental restrictions, no blasting is allowed until August for the
Askin, Chad Brinkerhoff, Alex Casilla, Mike Gilbertson, Klaus Herbert, Bill Kiehl, Gate Shaft excavation in rock.
Jimmy McGauley, Joerg Moser, Jake Richardson, Aaron Rustin, Bob Schaffer, Parties Affiliated with the Project: DEP: Emory Chase, Assountable Manager;
Terry Swindle, Peter Turlington, Lynn Twomley, Devin Weekly, and Leo Weiman. Project Designer: (Gannett Fleming/Hazen and Sawyer) Everette Knight; Tun-
NEW YORK
Gilboa
Schoharie Reservoir Low Level Outlet
Southland/Renda JV
This $142,636,000 for the New York City Department of Environmental Pro-
tection (DEP) was given NTP on June 29, 2015, and is scheduled for completion
in 2020. The joint venture of Southland Contracting Inc. and Oscar Renda Con-
tracting is building the project as part of a larger project called the Recon-
struction of Gilboa Dam and Associated Facilities. The project is located in the
vicinity of the Gilboa Dam, in Schoharie County.
The Gilboa LLO tunnel project consists of a 1,188-ft long, 9-ft ID Land Leg
tunnel constructed between the gate shaft and the tunnel portal, utilizing
microtunneling. The tunnel portal is an open-cut excavation supported by
soil-nail wall located at the downstream end of the project and constructed
to accommodate tunneling operations and construction of the valve chamber
structure. O-piling and substantial drilled foundations are also part of this
work. The 930-ft long Water Leg tunnel also has a 9-ft ID and is constructed
between the gate shaft and the intake structure utilizing microtunneling
techniques with underwater retrieval.
Auxiliary work includes dredging of the receiving pit for retrieval of the mi-
crotunneling machine and construction of the tremie concrete foundation for
the Intake Structure. The Intake Structure is located approximately 160 ft be-
low the water surface and is constructed from liner plate, tremie concrete and
stainless steel. The gate shaft is located adjacent to the existing dam and will
serve as main work shaft for the tunneling operations. The shaft will have a
43-ft excavated diameter in soft ground and 40-ft excavated diameter in rock.
The depth of soft ground excavation is 27 ft and the depth of rock excavation
is 157 ft. The work includes installation of initial supports and final reinforced

38 TUNNEL
UPDATES
nel Designer (COWI/Jenny Engineering) Leszek Glodkowski; Resident Engineer: Cleveland

(HAKS/D&B/WGI) John Gerlach. Dugway South Relief and Consolidation Sewer Project
Key Project Personnel: SRJV Project Manager: John Arciszewski; Chief En- McNally Tunneling Corporation
gineer: Jim Delmonte; Project Engineers: Tim Bray and Joe Janke; General Su- This $26 million project for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
perintendent: Dennis Proper; Safety Manager: Jose Podermo. Information: consists of approximately 2,666 lf of 90-in. diameter sewer with steel rib
John Arciszewski, (607) 588-4080. and lagging for initial tunnel support and fiberglass pipe as final lining. The
tunnel will be mined using 112-in. diameter Model M-112/285 mixed face
Lovat TBM, annular space will be filled using cellular grout; approximately
NEW YORK 2,648 lf of 42-in. diameter sewer with steel rib and lagging for initial tun-
Newburgh/Wappingers Falls nel support with fiberglass pipe as final lining to be mined using 100-in.
Delaware Aqueduct - Rondout West Branch Tunnel diameter M-110RL Series 13600 mixed face Lovat TBM, annular space will be
Schiavone Construction Co. LLC (BT-1); Kiewit/Shea (BT-2) filled using cellular grout; approximately 2,550 lf of new sewer installed by
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues open-cut from 12-in. to 72-in. diameter; construction of five cast-in-place
to work on its Delaware Aqueduct bypass tunnel project to address two leak- concrete flow control structures along the mainline alignment to depths
ing sections from the aqueduct. In March 2016, DEP substantially completed ranging from 20 to 50 ft; construction of 19 new cast-in-place concrete or
the excavation of two vertical shafts on either side of the Hudson River. This pre-cast concrete sanitary manhole, junction chamber and regulator struc-
effort was part of the BT-1 contract. Shaft 5B on the west side of the Hudson tures; and abandonment, modification or reconstruction of 14 existing sani-
River in Newburgh was excavated to a depth of approximately 845 ft below tary regulator structures. Site clearing and setup was expected to begin May
grade, and Shaft 6B on the east side of the river in Wappinger was excavated 16, 2016.
to a depth of approximately 675 ft. Preparation work is now beginning for the The project must navigate several small radius curves while mining in order
second contract, BT-2, which will include the construction of the 2.5-mile long to stay within city owned and NEORSD acquired right of way, some as small
bypass tunnel about 600 ft below the Hudson River, along with grouting that as 350-ft radius curves, in mixed shale-clay ground. The project located in an
will seal shut a much smaller area of leakage in Ulster County. The contractor urban high density residential area in close proximity to sensitive structures.
plans to begin tunnel excavation by the end of summer. Tunnel excavation will AECOM is the project designer.
begin with the construction of a bell-out chamber at the bottom of Shaft 5B. Key Project Personnel Henry Williams McNally Tunneling Corp., Gen-
That chamber will be used in 2017 to put together the tunnel boring machine eral Superintendent; Robert Trimble McNally Tunneling Corp., Project
and begin drilling from west to east. The Robbins Company has been selected Surveyor; Matt Szaraz, CHST McNally Tunneling Corp., QHSE Manager/Co-
to build a tunnel boring machine to perform this work. ordinator; Lance Jackson McNally Tunneling Corp., Field/Office Engineer;
Karrie Buxton Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Senior Construction
Supervisor; David Mast, P.E. AECOM, Senior Project Manager; Chris Lynagh,
OHIO P.E. McNally Tunneling Corp., Project Manager.
Akron
Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel Cincinnati
Turn-Key Tunneling Taco Bell
This project for the City of Akron involves connecting a 72-in. consolidation Turn-Key Tunneling
sewer to the larger, main OCIT tunnel. Due to the challenging soil conditions, This emergency project for private owner Taco Bell required the sliplining
the tunnel will be constructed using either a hydraulically driven tunnel shield of an existing 96-in. corrugated metal pipe that had completely collapsed and
and a two-pass system or ground stabilization and hand mining. The work is threatened the only entrance to a nursing home and condo community. The
to be performed under numerous existing utilities and busy a thoroughfare of project was multi-faceted in that a vertical shaft was needed to provide a safe
Akron which is to not to be closed for construction. Challenging soil condi- working environment 40-ft deep and close approximation to existing struc-
tions of running sandy material with a high water table are expected. Infor- tures and roads. A new tunnel structure was constructed in place of the failed
mation: Joel Froehlich Project Manager, joel@tunnelit.net. pipe and the entire run sliplined with a new 72-in. storm sewer. Information:
Joel Froehlich Project Manager, joel@tunnelit.net.
Cleveland
Dugway West Interceptor Relief Sewer
Turn-Key Tunneling PENNSYLVANIA
Turn-Key Tunneling was subcontracted to complete a previously planned Villanova
open-cut tie-in awarded to Walsh/Super Excavators joint venture by the Villanova Station Improvement Project Phase I
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. Due do to multiple utility conflicts Turn-Key Tunneling
above the proposed sanitary sewer line, a trenchless installation was deter- This project for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
mined to be the best fit for this crossing. The project consists of a 24-ft (SEPTA) features a 15-ft diameter tunnel installation, required to be installed
diameter vertical access shaft to act as a dual launch location for two tun- with a hydraulic tunnel shield. The project consists of a 72-ft drive of 180-in.
nels one 120-in. for an underground connection to an existing structure and tunnel beneath three active railroad tracks on SEPTAs Thorndale Line. Turn-
the second for a 72-in. tunnel to make the final connection to the new sewer. Key previously installed a similar tunnel on this same line at the Malvern
Ground stabilization in combination with a hand-mined tunnel liner plate Station in 2010. Anticipated grounds conditions include sand and gravel with a
tunnel is anticipated to negotiate through challenging geology. Information: water table in the bottom three feet of the tunnel heading. Information: Brian
Brian Froehlich - Project Engineer, brian@tunnelit.net. Froehlich - Project Engineer, brian@tunnelit.net.

TUNNEL 39
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TENNESSEE Safe Haven #3 to tunnel under the Alaskan Way Viaduct (which was closed
Nashville to traffic for two weeks while the TBM passed underneath) and downtown
Edwin Warner Pedestrian Tunnel Seattle to complete the remaining 7,713 ft of tunneling. Construction of the
Turn-Key Tunneling double-deck highway structure inside the tunnel will continue concurrently
Turn-Key Tunneling has been subcontracted by Rock City Construction to with the TBM tunneling. Work continues on construction of the north and
complete a 12-ft pedestrian tunnel to connect portion of Nashvilles pictur- south cut-and-cover approaches to the tunnel and the tunnel operations
esque Edwin Warren Metro Park. The park is managed by and the work is be- buildings at the north and south ends of the tunnel.
ing done for The Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation of Nashville and Key project personnel Seattle Tunnel Partners Executive Committee:
Davidson County. The tunnel will be constructed under a live railroad track Jack Frost, Jose Luis Mendez Sanchez; Project Manager: Chris Dixon; Deputy
and allow park attendees to have access to a previously remote portion of the Project Manager: Paco Gonzalez; Construction Coordinator: Bill Monahan;
park. The 104-ft long tunnel will be constructed using a hydraulically driven Civil Construction Manager: Joel Burch; Tunnel Manager: Roger Escoda, Tun-
tunnel shield in soils consisting of clay and exposed rock. Information: Joel nel Construction Manager: Juan Luis Magro; Tunnel Superintendents: Tom
Froehlich Project Manager, joel@tunnelit.net. McMahon, Jorge Vazquez; Safety Manager: Dan Weathers; Quality Manager:
Wally Chen. Information: Chris Dixon, (206) 971-8215.
WASHINGTON
Seattle CANADA
SR 99 Tunnel Project
Seattle Tunnel Partners (Dragados USA/Tutor Perini JV) ALBERTA
The temporary suspension of tunneling was conditionally lifted on Feb. Edmonton
22, 2016 to allow tunneling for the next 25 rings (162.5 ft) and was fully lifted 23rd Avenue Storm Sewer Design Build Project NRFP No. 928178
on March 7, 2016 to allow tunneling for the next 17 rings (110.5 ft) after which Dibco-CRS, A Joint Venture Inc.
the TBM reached Safe Haven #3, a planned and scheduled maintenance stop, Dibco-CRS was issued a $6,300,000 design-build contract by the City of
on March 12, 2016. During this three week period, the TBM tunneled 273 Edmonton to construct a 215-m long, 3-m ID segmentally lined tunnel, be-
ft, for total of 1,560 ft. There were 125 hyperbaric interventions performed tween shafts 6A and 6C, using an RME 137SE earth pressure balance (EPB)
while the TBM was stopped at Safe Haven #3. On April 29, 2016, the TBM left tunnel boring machine. Depth of tunnel is approximately 15 m. Ground con-
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40 TUNNEL
UPDATES
ditions are silty sand clay, clay and running sands. involved twin tunnels from Black Creek Road to Yonge Street. Tunneling on this
This project is 50% complete. Shaft works are all completed and the TBM is segment has been completed using twin 5.75-m ID TBMs to build the 6.5-km
fully assembled. The mining commenced on April 13, 2016, and it was antici- alignment.
pated to be completed by May 31, 2016. The East contract was awarded in November 2013 for $177 million to a joint
The challenges of this project are to successfully mine the tunnel, which is venture of Aecon and ACS Dragados Canada. The project involves twin TBMs,
composed of very soft water-bearing soils, while maintaining surface settle- also 5.75-m ID, to mine twin 3.35-km tunnels from Brentcliffe Road westward
ments to a minimum, and negotiating a 210-m radius curve. Other works to be to Yonge Street. The first TBM was launched in September 2015, followed by its
performed on this project consist of the completion of Shaft 6A and enlarging twin a month later. Both TBMs are nearing their completion point.
the Retrieval Shaft (6C) from 4.5 m to 8 m ID. The 3-m ID segments for the All tunneling is expected to be complete by the end of the year with the
project were cast locally at Lafarge Canada Inc. system going into operation in 2021. The Eglinton Crosstown project is fully
Parties Affiliated with the Project Tunnel Design: HATCH; Construction funded as part of the $8.4 billion commitment from Province of Ontario to
Manager: City of Edmonton; TBM Manufacturer: CAT/Lovat (refurbished). transit expansion in Toronto. The Crosstown project is the largest of the tran-
Key Project Personnel: Dibco-CRS, JV Project Manager: Gary Lukez; Site Su- sit projects in the city with a total cost of approximately $5.3 billion.
perintendent: Dylan Mitobe; City of Edmonton Project Manager: Minnan Liu,
Monteith & Sutherland; Tunnel Surveyor: Michael Vernik. Toronto
Twinning of Etobicoke Creek Trunk Sanitary Sewer
British Columbia Dibco/CRS
Surrey/Coquitlam Dibco/CRS JV, comprised of Dibco of Bolton, Ontario, and CRS Tunnelling
Port Mann Main Water Supply Tunnel Fraser River Crossing of Oakville, Ontario, completed a 576-m (1,890-lf), DN1800 (72-in.) RCP tun-
McNally/Aecon JV nel on the Twinning of Etobicoke Creek Trunk Sanitary Sewer project at the
This $167 million project for the Greater Vancouver Regional District began Lester B. Pearson International Airport on Dec. 3, 2015. CRS Tunnelling used
in March 2011 and has an expected completion date in mid 2016. The project a new, face access SL86P MTBM from Akkerman Inc. that travelled under an
includes two shafts, 55 m (180 ft) and 60 m (195 ft) deep. Each shaft consists active runway and two taxiways. Akkermans new AZ100 Total Guidance System
of slurry wall primary ground support and a heavily reinforced, cast-in-place provided navigation control for the long-distance microtunnel. Project chal-
concrete liner. The 1,000-m (3,280-ft) long, 3.5-m (11.5-ft) diameter tunnel is lenges included significant length, cutterhead tooling wear, geology, water-
driven with an EPB TBM through the riverbed of the Fraser River at pressures head, equipment staging, height restrictions and compliance with airport
up to 6 bar. The tunnel primary lining is precast segments and final lining regulations. The engineer, Hatch Mott MacDonald and owners, Region of Peel
consists of a 2.1-m (7-ft) diameter steel pipe concreted in place with cellular and Greater Toronto Airport Authority, were very pleased with the outcome.
concrete. Each shaft is topped with a near surface valve chamber structure. The Final Completion and Restoration date for this project is June 30, 2016.
The tunnel and piping is complete to the shaft bases. Shaft piping is under-
way and near surface valve chambers are 85% complete. Vaughan/Richmond Hill
Other parties associated with the project include: Owners Project Manager: Installation of Watermain along Bathurst Street and Teston Road
Hatch Mott MacDonald; Designer: Fraser River Tunnel Group (Ausenco, Jacobs CRS Tunnelling Inc. (Tunneling Sub)
Associates, Golder Associates); Steel lining pipe supply: Northwest Pipe; Steel Memme Construction was awarded a $17 million project in York Region for
lining pipe welding: Deans International Welding and Jewel Holdings; Pipe coat- the Installation of a Watermain and Appurtenances along Bathurst Street and
ing and lining: Jewel Holdings; Reinforcing steel supply and install: Harris Rebar; Teston Road in the City of Vaughan and Town of Richmond Hill. Memme selected
Valve Chamber Mechanical: Lockerbie and Hole; Electrical: MOTT Electric. CRS Tunnelling Inc. as its trenchless subcontractor for the construction of a
Key Project Personnel Project Manager: Andrew Rule, Assistant Project 685-m long tunnel. CRS will be excavating the tunnel using an earth pressure
Manager: Mark Thompson; Superintendent: Arash Foadi; Project Design Coor- balance tunnel boring machine (EPB TBM). CRS will be installing a 3-m ID rein-
dinator: Brian McInnes. forced concrete segment ring as a primary liner; and then will install a 1,050-
mm pressure pipe inside the completed tunnel. The tunnel is approximately 15
m deep, and the geology consists of primarily silty sand, sandy silt, clay, till with
ONTARIO boulders, all under water pressure. There are two watertight secant pile shafts;
Toronto one launch and one retrieval. CRS portion of the work is valued at $5.9 million.
Eglinton Crosstown LRT CRS Tunnelling has completed the tunnel and the installation of a 1,050-
KO Constructors (West), Aecon/ACS Dragdos Canada (East) mm watermain inside the tunnel. Pacific Grouting (subcontractor) is cur-
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is an east-west light rail transit line that will rently grouting the watermain in the tunnel.
run along and underneath Eglinton Avenue through the heart of Toronto from Final testing of the Watermain will be performed in mid-May 2016 and this
Mount Dennis (Weston Road) in the west to Kennedy subway station in the would be the extent of CRS Tunnellings work on this Project.
east. The LRT includes 10 km of tunneled alignment from Black Creek Road in The Tunnel Designer is GHD; the Construction Manager is GHD. In addition
the west to Brentcliffe Road in the east. to CSR Tunnelling, subcontractors include: Deep Foundations, and Canadian
The tunneled portions were divided into two contracts a West contract Precast (segment manufacturer). The TBM is a Refurbished RME 137SE, manu-
and an East contract. Tunneling is taking place about 20 m below surface and factured by CAT/Lovat.
is averaging about 10 m per day. Key Project Personnel Project Manager: Walter Trisi; Tunnel Surveyor:
The West contract was awarded in September 2012 for $317.9 million to KO Mike Klement; General Superintendent: Gregg Rehak; Tunnel Superintendent:
Constructors (a joint venture of Kenadian Contracting Ltd., Obayashi Canada Angelo Papa; Safety Manager: Fil Fazzino; TBM Operators: Luca DeZordo and
Ltd., Kenny Construction Co. and Technicore Underground Inc.). The contract William Cadeau. Contact: walter@crstunnelling.com.

42
PRODUCTS/SERVICES
Babendererde Engineers preferable. Impressive, sophisticated under- views that as just the start of its ambitious jour-
Babendererde Engi- ground structures can help solve current and ney into the future. Whether its soft ground or
neers specializes in future urban congestion and development chal- hard rock, large or small diameter TBMs, Lovsuns
mechanized tunneling and underground storage lenges. HNTB Corp. has more than 45 years of supports clients in succeeding on the most chal-
construction. Babendererde supports projects experience in the design, construction and res- lenging projects worldwide with custom-made,
worldwide with customized services during toration of tunnels and underground structures reliable, durable and competitive product solu-
project development and design, as well as with in various grounds in the highway, transit, rail, tions from its facilities in Canada and China.
construction management and applied process aviation and water resources markets. Projects Lovsuns covers major infrastructure segments:
engineering. Another successful service being range from small-diameter excavations to the metro, railway, road, hydropower, water convey-
offered is practical trouble-shooting on-site for worlds largest machine-bored tunnels. ance, sewage and oil pipelines.
TBMs in difficult situations. For water and gas
storage, Babendererde provides assistance for
developers and construction companies. Tun-
Hobas Pipe USA Malcolm Drilling Co.
Hobas centrifugally cast, Malcolm Drilling
nelsoft supports the tunneling industry with
fiberglass-reinforced, Co. Inc. has for five
specialized software for data management and
polymer mortar pipe decades been an in-
visualization. Babendererdes major product is
is ideal for a variety of novator and leader in the deep foundation indus-
the software Tunnelling Process Control (TPC).
installation methods try. Malcolms list of core services as it relates to
Its unique flexibility, combined with power-
including nearly every tunneling and geotechnical construction includes
ful automatic reporting and notification tools,
trenchless application: sliplining, jacking, mi- access shafts, support of excavation systems,
makes it one of the leading solutions in the
crotunneling, two-pass tunnel and casing car- cutoff and secant pile walls, grouting techniques,
market. TPC has successful references all over
rier plus open cut and above ground for both various soil mixing methods and dewatering.
the world.
pressure and gravity applications. Key applica- These combined services have routinely been ap-
tions are storm and sanitary sewers, other cor- plied on numerous complex tunneling projects
Brookville Equipment rosive environments and potable water. Sections throughout North America from SR 99 in Seattle
Corporation join with push-together, leak free, gasket sealed

couplings. Non-pressure and pressure classes
to the POMT in Miami. The companys engineer-
ing experience facilitates design-build efficiency
Brookville designs
are manufactured in diameters from 18 to 126 in. and allows for timely collaboration with owners
and manufactures
and contractors. Malcolm provides these services
diesel and battery
locomotives, per- Jennmar nationwide through our regional offices.
sonnel carriers and Jennmar has been an in-

combination vehicles for underground miners novative leader in ground McDowell Equipment Ltd.
and tunnelers. Customizable Brookville units control for the mining McDowell Equip-
come in ranges of 4 to 50 tons with variable industry for more than ment Ltd. supplies
gauges of 24 to 48 in. and can be designed to 40 years. Over the past decade, the success of new and late-model tunneling equipment for
meet MSHA permissibility standards. Recent Jennmars products and engineering solutions rental or sale. The companys rental fleet con-
product enhancements include remote con- has led the company, quite naturally, into tun- sists of underground loaders from to 10 yd;
trol, LED gauge panels, and integrated rearview neling applications as well. Jennmar has made underground haul trucks from 7 to 40 tons; low-
cameras for operational safety and efficiency. key acquisitions of people and equipment to fur- profile motor graders; jumbo drills with one, two
Brookville units have serviced some of the in- ther enhance its deep commitment to serve the or three booms; underground remixers; locomo-
dustrys most notable projects, including the tunneling industry. Jennmars primary product tives; and muck cars. McDowell manufactures
East Side Access Project in New York City. In roster includes PYTHON expandable rock bolts, shotecrete machines, scissor lifts, ANFO loaders,
2015, Brookville delivered three 27-ton tunneling FRICTION-LOK stabilizer systems, steel sets, steel and personnel carriers. The company can also
locomotives to the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corri- tunnel and shaft ribs, lattice girders, rail ties and offer fully re-manufactured or reconditioned
dor Tunnel Project in Los Angeles. resins. With the companys alliance partner, Con- equipment at significant savings from new with
tech, Jennmar can also provide TWO-flange liner fast delivery times.
HNTB Corp. plate.
Urban growth is ex-

erting increased de- Lovsuns McMillen Jacobs
mand for more efficient transportation, reliable Lovsuns is proud to Associates
power, water and wastewater conveyance, and have come from a McMillen Jacobs Associ-
communication systems. Many cities are opt- legacy that has built and refurbished 600-plus ates is an employee-owned
ing to add infrastructure underground. Modern TBMs for 400-plus projects around the world engineering and construc-
technology makes that solution possible and totaling 2,500 km of completed tunnels. Lovsuns tion firm serving the water resources, heavy

43
PRODUCTS/SERVICES
civil, and underground markets. The firm designs contractors choice for tunnel construction Technical Tunnelling
with vision and builds with integrity. McMillen
Jacobs Associates offers comprehensive design,
pipe: ventilation, compressed air, cooling wa-
ter, well point headers and dewatering service
Components
Technical Tunnelling Com-
design-build, self-performing construction and are common uses. Naylor Pipe is manufac-
ponents (TTC) has over
construction management capabilities. The com- tured in accordance with ASTM A-139 and
40 years of experience manufacturing and sup-
panys services include environmental studies, ASTM A-211 specifications. Diameters range
plying segment accessories such as connection
licensing, permitting, hydraulics, hydrology, and from 4 to 96 in. and thicknesses from 1/16 to
bolts, grout/lifting sockets, segment packers
dam safety, as well as civil, structural, geotech- in. Also available are the necessary fittings
and grommets along with the award-winning
nical, mechanical, and electrical engineering. and connections including the exclusive Nay-
Dowelock connection system. TTC truly is the
McMillen Jacobs Associates also provides claims lor Heavy Duty Wedgelock Couplings to com-
one-stop shop for all precast segmental fixing
and dispute resolution services, and maintains plete your pipe system.
and grouting systems. The in-house design and
offices covering North America and Australasia.
manufacturing capabilities that Tunnelling Ac-
Moretrench Nicholson cessories and Bosworth Plastics have can also

offer products for challenging situations as well
Nicholson has been both
Moretrench spe- as standard segment accessories. TTC supplies
a leader and an innova-
cializes in complex components worldwide with an impressive prod-
tor in the geotechnical
underground construction geotechnical chal- uct portfolio along with excellent service.
construction industry
lenges, particularly those related to tunnels,
for more than 50 years. With regional of-
shafts, cross passages, and other underground
fices across the country and headquarters Thompson Pipe GroupFlowtite
structures. The companys services include
located in Pittsburgh, Nicholson is a nation- Tough Flowtite FRP
ground freezing, dewatering and groundwater
ally renowned specialty contractor, offering pipe is made us-
control, earth retention and excavation support,
proven expertise in the design and installa- ing the continuous
soil stabilization and grouting, remediation
tion of deep foundation elements, earth re- filament-winding process, allowing for additional
of mixed-face conditions, rock consolidation,
tention systems and ground treatment solu- strength over conventional centrifugal cast-
and groundwater treatment. These services are
tions. Nicholson prides itself on its ability to ing to meet your exact jacking, microtunneling
available nationwide through offices in New Jer-
consistently provide clients with innovative, or sliplining needs. The pipe can be customized
sey, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsyl-
high-quality design-build options for projects within a broad range of lengths, diameters, pres-
vania and Maryland.
of varying size and complexity. Nicholson is sure grades and stiffness classes. Flow-Crete
the North American subsidiary of Soletanche jacking pipe is also available, which combines
Mott MacDonald Bachy, one of the worlds leading geotechnical the strength of reinforced concrete with the cor-
Mott MacDonald has a cen- contractors, and is part of a global network rosion resistance and pressure capabilities of
tury-long history providing of unparalleled geotechnical resources and Flowtite FRP. Flowtite can be specified for both
tunnel design and engineer- expertise. pressure and gravity applications, as well as for
ing solutions for rail and wastewater and hydroelectric penstock projects
transit, road, water/wastewater conveyance, and more.
CSO storage, and cable and communications.
Robit
The firms reputation for technical excellence
is in planning and preliminary design, final de-
Robit Plc has 30 VMT
years of expe- VMT has been sup-
sign, program management, design/build and
rience serving plying tailor-made
P3, scheduling and cost estimating, risk manage-
the mining and construction industries. The solutions, services,
ment and risk assessment, feasibility studies,
specialized offerings consist of Top Hammer navigation and monitoring systems to the tun-
construction management, value engineering.
Rock Drilling Tools and DTH Ground Drill- neling industry since 1994. Development of spe-
Complimentary skills in technical areas include
ing Tools. With firm roots in the deep, hard cific systems for the guidance of tunnel boring
tunnel inspection and rehabilitation, ground sta-
Scandinavian granite and the Finnish min- machines in segmentally lined, pipe jacked and
bilization and treatment, tunnel systems, venti-
ing industry, Robit possess in-depth knowl- conventional tunnels has been the major aspect of
lation, and fire-life safety. With over 2,300 staff
edge of drilling in the most challenging rock product development to date. Now VMT provides a
and 62 offices throughout North America, Mott
types. Robit has become a global company Segment Documentation System (SDS), the leading
MacDonald is dedicated to providing technical
headquartered in Finland, with sales today in solution in segment quality management and lo-
excellence to clients.
more than 115 countries. At present, Robits gistics. This together with VMTs High Adaptability
high-quality products are manufactured in Data and Emergency System (HADES) information
Naylor Pipe Co. Finland and South Korea, offices in the United transfer infrastructure and deformation monitor-
Established in 1925, Naylor States, South Africa, China, Russia, Peru and ing improves the quality and safety on construc-
Spiralweld Steel Pipe is the Thailand. tion sites and helps to reduce costs.

46 TBM: TUNNEL
BUSINESS MAGAZINE CALENDAR
June 2016
13-17 Grouting Fundamentals and Current Practice,
Austin, TX
Web: www.utclee.org/grouting
August 2016
2 Moles Clambake, Pelham, NY
Web: themoles.info
17-18 Beaverdilly, Napa, CA

Web: thebeavers.org
29-31 Eurock 2016, Cappadocia, Turkey

Web: www.eurock2016.org
September 2016
6-9 Urban Underground Space & Tunnelling Asia
Summit, Singapore
Web: www.equip-global.com/urban-under
ground-space-and-tunnelling-asia-summit-2016
12-15 Tunnel Short Course, Boulder, CO

Web www.tunnelingshortcourse.com
12-15 World Conference of Associated Research

Centers for the Urban Underground Space,
St. Petersburg, Russia
Web: www.acuus2016.com
20-23 InnoTrans, Berlin

Web: www.innotrans.de
April 2017
9-13 NASTT No-Dig Show, Washington, DC
Web: www.nodigshow.com
June 2017
4-7 RETC, San Diego, CA
Web: www.retc.org
June 2017
9-16 World Tunnel Congress, Bergen, Norway
Web: www.wtc2017.no
AD INDEX
ADVERTISER ...................................................................................PAGE ADVERTISER ...................................................................................PAGE
Arntzen............................................................ www.arntzen.com ........................................46 Kilduf Underground Engineering............... www.isekimicro.com ...................................46
Babendererde Engineers ............................... www.tpc.tunnelsoft.com .............................35 Malcolm Drilling Co. ..................................... www.malcolmdrilling.com............................5
Benjamin Media Resource Center ................ www.edu.benjaminmedia.com....................39 McDowell Equipment ................................... www.mcdowell.com ....................................46
Bradshaw Construction Corp........................ www.bradshaw.com .......................................9 Messe Berlin GMBH ..................................... www.messe-berlin.com ................................7
Dr. Mole Inc. ................................................... www.drmoleinc.com ....................................37 Moretrench .................................................... www.moretrench.com ................................13
DSI Underground Systems Inc. ................... www.dsiunderground.com .........................15 NASTTs 2017 No-Dig Show ...................... www.nodigshow.com ..................................47
Hayward Baker inc ......................................... www.HaywardBaker.com ...........................21 Risk Management Conference
Herrenknecht Tunnelling www.undergroundriskmanagement.com ............................................................................41
Systems USA Inc............................................ www.herrenknecht.com ................................2 Sandvik ........................................................... www.construction.sandvik.com .................23
Kenall Lighting .............................................. www.kenall.com ......................... Back Cover Tunneling Short Course ............................. www.tunnelingshortcourse.com ......... 44-45

NASTTs 2017
Call for No-Dig Show
Abstracts April 9-13, 2017
Gaylord National Convention Center | Washington, D.C.
Submission Deadline: June 30, 2016

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) is now accepting abstracts for its
2017 No-Dig Show in Washington D.C. at the Gaylord National on April 9-12, 2017. Prospective
authors are invited to submit a 250-word abstract outlining the scope of their paper and the principal
points of beneft to the trenchless industry. The abstracts must be submitted electronically at NASTTs
website by June 30, 2016: nastt.org/abstractsubmission.
Abstracts from the following subject areas are of interest to the No-Dig Show Program Committee:
Potable Water and Pressure Systems Industry Issues

Pipeline Inspection, Locating, and Condition Assessment Subsurface Utility Engineering
Pipe Rehabilitation Submittal Requirements and Quality Assurance/Quality
Pipe Bursting Control
Emerging Technologies Project Budgeting and Prioritization
Case Studies Funding for Green Technologies
Selection Criteria for Contractors
Wastewater, Storm water, and Non-pressure Systems Social Costs and Impacts
Advanced Pipeline Condition Assessment Carbon Footprint Reduction
I&I and Leak Detection Sustainable Construction Practices
Pipeline and Laterals Rehabilitation Industry Trends, Issues and Concerns
Pipeline Inspection, Locating, and Condition Assessment
Cured-in-Place Pipe Lining New Installations Tunneling, Boring and Pipe Ramming
Sliplining New Concepts or Trenchless Equipment, Materials and
Pipe Bursting Methods
Spray Applied Linings New Applications for Boring Techniques (Auger Boring
Grouting and Pipe Ramming)
Manhole Rehabilitation Pilot Tube Boring (Tunneling)
Case Studies Case Studies
Energy Pipeline Systems Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

Pipeline Inspection, Locating, and Condition Assessment New Concepts and Applications for Horizontal
Aging System Rehabilitation Directional Drilling Equipment, Materials and Methods
New Trenchless Installation Case Studies
Standards and Regulations
Microtunneling
Trenchless Research and Development New Concepts and Applications for Microtunneling
University and Industry Initiatives Equipment, Materials and Methods
Education and Training Case Studies
For more information visit

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TABLE OF 3

16 Cement Grout vs. Chemical Grout:

20 WTC 2016 Recap

40 Products 24 European Megaprojects

31 Q&A with Stantecs Gord Johnston

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Jim Rush - Publisher/Editor

Contributing Staff Editors: Graphic Designer:

TED BUDD Kenny Construction - Wheeling, Ill.

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

Robbins Crossover TBM Breaks Through in Mexico City

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

William (Bill) Leech, 70, a long-time member of the

$4 Billion Subway Contract

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Four Herrenknecht TBMs Headed to Norway

Fehmarnbelt Tunnel Contractors Appointed

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

New Hudson River Tunnel to Receive $70 Million for Engineering

Final Proposals Received for Parallel

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

The 3.2-mile University Link segment, which opened

Seattle Agency Opens University Link,

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

MAJOR TUNNEL CONTRACTS AT-A-GLANCE

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

Cement Grout vs. Chemical Grout:

Which One to Use, When, and Why

Cement and chemical grouts

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

Assuming that the exterior dewatering

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

World Tunnel Congress

Attracts Record Crowd

T annual conference, exhibition and general assembly hosted a record-

TOP: A record 2,319 participants flocked to San Francisco for the

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

By Dipl.-Ing. Roland Herr

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

Italy to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean. The 64-km (39.8-mile) long

For the continuity of the Lisbon, Madrid, Paris and Strasbourg/

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Overview of the TEN-T core network (Photo: BBT SE)

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

Dipl.-Ing. Roland Herr is an international freelancing journalist and author,

Microtunnel Project Overcomes Macro Challenges

result is that we completed the run successfully.

DC WATER MEGA PROJECTS

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Maryland-based contractor Bradshaw Construction Corp. had a com-

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM

TUNNELINGONLINE.COM JUNE 2016 // TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE

nel Designer (COWI/Jenny Engineering) Leszek Glodkowski; Resident Engineer: Cleveland

TBM: TUNNEL BUSINESS MAGAZINE // JUNE 2016 TUNNELINGONLINE.COM