Lemley Assesses Chunnel Role as Catalyst of Transportation Systems Revolution in Europe

Jack Lemley, CEO of Transmanche Link and former president of the International Tunnelling Association, spoke on "The Channel Tunnel: Its Manage- ment and Impact on European Transportation" at a meeting of the Minnesota section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on January 30. In addition to describ- ing the project management of the Channel Tunnel project and describ- ing how the actual transportation system will work, Lemley addressed the larger issue of how the Chunnel will affect, and be affected by, the rest of the European transportation network.

"The Channel Tunnel will form part of a major revision of transpor- tation systems in greater Europe, particularly within the so-called London/Frankfurt/Milan "golden triangle," he noted. "As a direct result of the Fixed Link, road, rail, sea, and air transportation between England, France and Belgium will be realigned and made more efficient.

The public will also benefit from reduced congestion and pollution, as well as from reduced travel times and a general increase in the level of comfort and convenience."

Lemley spoke of the "catalytic effect" that the Channel Tunnel is having on the European transporta- tion systems. The 12 governments comprising the E.C. have committed to a $US120-billion rail proposal to be completed by 2010. The rail system would link population centers with 5,600 mi. (9,000 km) of new track for 155-mph (250 kph) trains and 9,300 mi. (15,000 km) of up- graded track for 124-mph (200 kph) trains. These "economically and ecologically beneficial" rail schemes are part of a rediscovery of public transportation systems, and particu- larly rail transportation, Lemley said, brought about by concerns about congestion, pollution, the environment, and other issues related to the quality of life and work.

Lemley also acknowledged that while the new traffic that the Channel Tunnel will generate has been planned for in France and Belgium, where plans are underway to connect it with those nations' high- speed rail networks, no similar effort has been made in England. This will no doubt result in increased conges- tion between London and the southeast portion of Britain. A high- speed rail link is "desperately needed if England's place in the new Euro- pean economic reality is to be taken seriously," Lemley asserted.

Lemley concluded by referring to the Channel Tunnel as an example of "what can be done when engineering and construction technology, skill and determination meet with the proper combination of political will and economic enterprise. As part of a worldwide transportation revolution, such structures are, to some extent, the ultimate, inevitable solution to physical barriers that prevent peoples and nations from effective, beneficient communication."

News from Around the World Australia

After six years of development work, The Robbins Company's Model 130 Mobile Miner has begun work on the B rok en Hill Mine in N e w South Wales. A prototype of the Mobile Miner was built for Mt. Isa Mines in 1984. This second-generation machine was developed with the help of Pasminco Mining Ltd., owner of the Broken Hill Mine. Several major improve- ments in this machine--including increased weight (280 t versus 120 t for the Mt. Iaa machine), a boost in cutter wheel power from 300 kW to 500kW, and a modified cutter

wheel--are expected to dramatically increase the advances rates over the MM120 Model used at Mt. Isa. The Model 130 is about 28 m long and mounted on tandem crawlers. The forward unit is joined by a power- articulated steering hitch and carries the mining machine itself, while the rear unit houses the electrical, hydraulic and automation equip- ment. The articulation will allow the machine to negotiate and develop tight radius curves. The MM130 will be used initially to develop the 5 level of the Broken Hill southern operations; later it will be tested in lead-zinc stoping operations.

Brazi l Two construction and engineering

company pools have submitted proposals to build the Federal District's 40-kin subway, which will link Brasilia to its outlying districts. The project, w h i c h is slated to be comple ted in April 1994, is e s t imated to cos t $US650 mil l ion and wil l t ransport about 20,000 passengers an hour. The project will be jointly funded by the Federal District and the federal government, with BNDES, the national develop- ment bank, scheduled to finance $300 million.

Robbins Model 130 Mobile Miner is transported to the Broken Hill Mine site.

286 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume 7, Number 3, 1992

Canada The International Symposium

on Rock Support was held at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, from June 16 to 19. The symposium featured 80 papers from more than 20 countries on all aspects of rock support for mining and civi} applications, with special focus on recent advances in rockmass reinforcement techniques, including backfilling, rock bolting, cable bolting, grouting, pillar design, screening and shotcreting. Interna- tionally recognized authorities from Australia, Sweden, South Africa, Britain and Canada gave keynote addresses on topics of special interests. In parallel with the Symposium, the Underground Hardrock Mining Equipment Exhibition offered displays of the latest drilling, bolting, grouting, and other mining technology. Preceding these events, the 16th Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium was held at Laurentian. The 20 presen- tations on current rock mechanics work in Canada including discus- sions of projects such as the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, currently under construction at the 6800-ft.- level at INCO's Creighton Mine.

Egypt The f i r s t p h a s e o f construct ion

of the Greater Cairo W a s t e w a t o r P r o j e c t w a s opened by Egyptian P r e s i d e n t Hosni Muharak. The Lovat EPB machine completed the 3.7-km-long second drive in a year and a day- -a year ahead of schedule. The completed works form a major part of the East Bank Scheme, comprising 12 km of tunnel, a major pumping station at America, and a 6- kin-long box culvert conveyance system. Since 1985, the Cairo Wastewater Consortium (CWC) has completed three contracts for the project, comprising a total of 16.7 km of tunnel, as well as 49 shafts, on the £1 billion project. CWC is a joint venture between Arab Contractor Osman Ahmod Osman and Co. of Cairo and U.I~-based firms Balfour Beatty Construction, Cementation International, Edmund Nuttal], and Tarmac Overseas.

Germany

Motorists in the far north of the Federal Republic of Germany will be able to reach the Bremen- Bremerhaven motorway more quickly and without major detours soon. A new Weser t u n n e l bu i l t approx. 10 km south of B r e m e r h a v e n will l ink up the B212 f ede ra l highway in t he wes t w i th t he A27 to the

east of the river. Exploratory drilling and soil investigations for the 1600-m-long tunnel project were carried out using two drilling installations on either side of the Weser, as well as a drilling vessel and a platform on the water.

H u n g a r y

The f i r s t p h a s e o f a n ew 7-kin Hne o f t h e B u d a p e s t m e t r o is being put out to bid this spring. The Ddl-Buda-Rfikospalota Line, which is intended to relieve severe traffic congestion, will run southwest to northwest across the city. Planners and economists in Budapest are studying the financial and economic arrangements of an international competitive bid for the concession to design, construct, operate, and finance the line.

Iran

Construction h a s b e g u n on the tw in diversion tunnels of the G o d a r - e - L a n d a r h y d r o e l e c t r i c power plant in southwest I r an . The 9-m-dia., 1.2-kin-long tunnels are being constructed by a joint venture of local constructors and Austrian firm Ilbau. The preliminary construction contract is expected to take more than two years to complete. The main construction works, to be constructed over the next five years, comprise a 170-m- high rockfill dam and an underground power station. The 1000 MW project, which is scheduled to begin operating in 1999, will supply electricity to Teheran and Isfahan.

I t a l y

A Robbins TBM c r e w h a s b r o k e n through on the Vomano tunne l , p a r t o f the I t a l i an Na- t iona l E lec t r i c i ty B o a r d (ENEL) p ro jec t to e x p a n d and improve the existing Vomano River hydro scheme. The 14.5-kin-long diversion tunnel is part of expansion plan that calls for constructing a new pressure tunnel and shaft system near the existing Vomano tunnel, which supplies water to the scheme's three power plants. Undercapacity has been an ongoing problem for the hydro system. An irregular flow has resulted in underutilization of the power plants. The new tunnel is designed to equalize flow rates to the three plans, and to boost the power output of one of them from 198 MW to 330 MW. Because access to the site of the tunnel is limited-- the hydro- electric scheme is isolated at over 1,000 m altitude in the Apennine

mountains-- the construction crews camped near the job sites. A 5.3-m- dia. Robbins hard-rock TBM began the drive in mid-April 1987, and finished in December 1991. Water inflows of more than 501 per second on the third stretch of the Vomano tunnel halted excavation for nearly five months. Nonetheless, the drive set a record for 10,000 m of continu- ous excavation--a first in Italy.

Two shield tunne l l ing ma- c h i n e s a r e d r i v i n g s e v e r a l k m o f ga l l e r i e s fo r w a s t e co l lec t ion a s a n e x t e n s i o n o f T u r i n ' s s e w e r network. The 2.5-m external dia. tunnels are divided into individual sections, each comprising a few hundred m. The geology consists of sandy-silty river gravels with intermittent carbonic consolidated zones. The tunnels are located above groundwater level along their entire length. Average rates of 8-20 segments per 8-hour shift, with a peak performance of 14 segments, have been attained thus far.

Japan Taise i C o r p o r a t i o n will use a

r a n g i n g w h e e l mobile miner d e v e l o p e d in c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h The Robbins Company on trans- portat ion tunne l projects in mounta inous a r e a s o f the world where drill-and-blast methods are restricted because of the effects of blast shock and other environmental concerns. The machine is expected to reduce significantly the time re- quired to excavate large headings where drill-and-blast cannot be employed efficiently. The new MM130R will be capable of excavat- ing a cross-section of 50 m 2 to 80 m 2 in a variety of shapes, including an arch with a fiat floor. This ability makes the machine particularly well- suited for transportation tunnel construction. The hard rock mining machine is expected to excavate at a rate of 18 m ~ per hour in granites with a rock strength of 150 MPa. The MM130R prototype machine successfully completed two projects at Mr. Isa Mines in Queensland, Australia. A second mining machine was delivered in March to Pasminco Mining Ltd.'s Broken Hill mine in New South Wales, Australia. The MM130R, which is being built at Robbins' headquarters facility in Kent, Washington, will be shipped to Japan in April 1993.

Luxembourg After a year, e x c a v a t i o n h a s

been completed on the 300-m-long Howard Tunnel , close to the City of Luxembourg, and the twin-tube

Volume 7, Number 3, 1992 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 287

highway tunnel is expected to be open to traffic by summer. An Alpine Miner roadheader is driving the horseshoe-shaped tunnels through layers of marl and carbonate sand.

Malaysia Breakthrough of the river

diversion for the Pergau hydro project h a s b e e n achieved five months ahead of schedule . Work began on the 570-m-long, 5.5-m-dia. tunnel in December 1991. Construc- tion of the 75-m-high earth fill dam is scheduled for completion in 1996.

Mexico A corroded gasoline p ipe l ine

is b e i n g b l a m e d fo r a l eak that c a u s e d a s e r i e s o f d e a d l y explo- s ions in G u a d a l a j a r a on April 22. A report by the national attorney general's office says that gasoline- saturated soil leached into the combined sewer system through storm drains and mixed with smaller quantities of other explosive sub- stances, accelerating the 11 explo- sions, which killed about 200 people and injured 1,470, and ripped up 5 mi. of streets. The line is owned by the state petroleum company, Petrolees Mexicanos (Pemex). As a result of the probe, nine people were arrested and jailed, including five state and local officials, and four Pemex executives.

Norway The 260-m-long roof of the 1994

Win te r O lympics stadium in H a m e r w a s c o m p l e t e d in March , claiming a world record in t imber construction. The roof spans 96 m to concrete support walls enclosing the main speed-skating rink. Estimated cost of the stadium if $US32.5 million.

People's Republic of China The #30 tunne l on the

Yindaruqin irrigation project being constructed near Lanzhou was c o m p l e t e d in J a n u a r y , coming in five months ahead of schedule. The 11,649-m drive was made by a 5.54-m-dia. double-shield Robbins TBM. The project is being constructed by the Gansu Province Resources Bureau; contractor for the #30 tunnel was Italy's Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti (CMC). CMC began a 5.4-kin-long drive on a second tunnel in April.

South Afr ica The first drive for the l a r g e s t

hydroelectric-water s u p p l y

project for the L e s o t h o High . l ands W a t e r P r o j e c t began in F e b r u a r y ; the work is being undertaken by a refurbished Robbins TBM. The multi-purpose water diversion scheme is being jointly developed by the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa, under the auspices of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority and the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority. The first phase of the project comprises a 180-m-high double-curvature arch dam; a 15-kin- long, 5.1-m-dia. south delivery tunnel; and a 22-km-long, 5.1-m-dia. north delivery tunnel. The Robbins TBM has begun work in February on the south delivery tunnel; two new Robbins machines are began work on separate sections of the transfer tunnel in May. The completed transfer tunnel will divert water from Katse dam to an underground power station planned near the village of Muela. Power generated from the station, the first of its kind in Lesotho, will free the country from dependence on outside sources of electricity.

S w i t z e r l a n d An independent company repre-

senting s o m e 50 Swiss c o m p a n i e s , pub l ic o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d p r i v a t e investors h a v e p r o v i d e d US$1 million to f inance the promotion of a n a m b i t i o u s p l a n to build a n u n d e r g r o u n d in t e r -c i ty r a i l network in S w i t z e r l a n d until 1995. Swissmetro SA intends to obtain a concession from the Federal Parl iament to operate a network comprising two main lines and to develop its contacts with interest parties from within Switzerland and abroad. The technology for the network combines linear motor with electromagnetic levitation, allowing 200-m-long trains to travel in a partial vacuum tunnel at speeds up to 500 km/h. Swissmetro would reduce the travelling time between Geneva and Zurich to an hour, in addition to relieving pressure on surface lines and roads. The pro- posed system would cost approxi- mately $US17 billion and would take 25 years to build.

T a i w a n The l a r g e s t e a r t h - p r e s s u r e

sh ie ld yet built in G e r m a n y is being completed for use in driving the first tunnel section of the metro in the center of Taipe i . The machine has a diameter of approx. 6 m, is more than 40 m long and weighs just under 400 t. Two tunnels, each 370 m long, with an external diameter of 5.92 m, will be

driven using a shield. Both tunnels will be provided with a single lining of reinforced steel block segments with neoprene rubber seal. Tunnel- ling work in the Taiwanese capital is scheduled to s tar t in July 1992. The work is being carried out by a German-Korean-Taiwanese consor- t ium under the technical manage- ment of Ed. Ztiblin, Stuttgart .

U.IL

Work started in January on the 100-m-long trial tunnel for the £235- m Heathrow Express rail link. The 20-week t r i a l wil l t e s t the use of the NATM, which is be ing used for the first t ime in London Clay, to determine the cost-effectiveness and suitability of the method for two of the line's underground stations and associated junctions. Excavation is currently underway on three 30-m- long, 9.2-m-wide, 7.9-m-high sections of full station-size tunnel. Different types of headings and support types are being used for each section; lead designer Mott MacDonald will assess which method proves most effective in minimizing settlement.

V.S°

Buses travel ing through downtown Seattle's Metro tunnel have experienced far fewer accidents than w h en their routes were along surface streets. From the time the tunnel opened in September 1990, through September 1991, there have been only 15 accidents. That compares with 39 accidents the year before, when these same buses were on surface street rou tes - -a 62% drop in traffic and passenger accidents.

The T r e n c h l e s s Technology C e n t e r o f L o u i s i a n a Tech Univer - s i ty h a s b e e n a w a r d e d a two- year, $1,2-million r e s e a r c h p ro jec t through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Construction Productivity Advancement Research (CPAR) program. TTC and the Corps are evaluating methods, equipment and materials for trenchless construction and rehabilitation. New guidelines and specifications for future users of trenchless technology will be devel- oped from the data acquired from the study. CPAR was create to help the domestic construction industry improve productivity and regain its competitive edge nationally and internationally. The first task, a state-of-the-art review of trenchless technology, will identify candidate methods and materials for subsequent field and laboratory evaluations. Two m~jor installation systems, micro- tunnel bering systems and mini-

288 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume 7, Number 3, 1992

horizontal directional drilling sys- tems, will be evaluated at test beds. Long-term durability testing will be conducted on several rehabilitation systems at the Trenchless Technology Center. The project should aid in making trenchless technology widely accessible to the U.S. construction industry.

The Construction Disputes Reso lu t ion Group , wh ich has h e a d q u a r t e r s in To ron to , me t r e c e n t l y to deve lop p lans to es tab l i sh a U.S. Chap te r . The group was formed in 1990 to offer a viable method of solving construction disputes. It offers to make available seasoned construction people with experience in the type of work under contract to assist the parties to a

dispute in achieving settlement through non-binding mediation. The Group also makes services available to advise on construction problems in the early stages in order to prevent adversarial daims positions from developing. The Group was formed in response to concern with the shortcomings of litigation. According to a press release, "Many of the Group members have served as arbitrators and have come to realize that arbitration has also become tediously sew and costly due to legalistic rules and procedures." Since the Group's formation in Canada, other Chapters have been formed in the U.K. and Europe. For more information about a U.S. Chapter of CDRG, contact William F.

Loftus of William F. Loftus Associ- ates, 120 Charlotte Place, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632. Phone 201/871- 4800; fax 201/871-8950.

In February, the joint v e n t u r e o f Kenny /Kiewi t /Shea se t f ou r n ew r e c o r d s fo r l a rge TBM a d v a n c e m e n t , in w o r k on the C a l u m e t S ec t i o n o f Chicago 's TARP (Tunnel and Reservoir Project). The following production rates established records:

Single ShiR-- 91 ft. Record 1: Records 2 and 3:

Record 4:

3 consecutive shifts, 24 hrs . - - 214 ftJ6,506 cu. yds. excavated Best week--932 ft.

Volume 7, Number 3, 1992 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 289