Seattle Light-Rail Tunnel Likely to Break Ground This Year
Geologic Hazards
Devil’s Slide Tunnel Construction Kicks Off
On September 17, CALTRANS and Kiewit Pacific held a "tunnel excavation celebration" to kick off the start of tunnel construction on The Devil’s Slide Tunnels project on California State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) in San Mateo County between the town of Montara to the south and the city of Pacifica to the north. The project involves the creation of a separated two-lane road, one lane in each direction. This road will pass through twin tunnels, over twin bridges and connect with an existing non-separated two-lane road at each end. The new road will be approximately 6,500 feet long, made up of the roughly 4,000-foot twin tunnels, the 1,500-foot north approach road (which includes the 1000-foot parallel bridges), and the 1,000-foot south approach road. Upon completion, the new road will bypass geologically unstable portions of existing Route 1, sections of roadway subject to lengthy closures, high maintenance costs over the years, and risk of permanent failure. Thanks Geology.com for the heads up. [Read on for more background, photos, maps, and movies!] (Images by CALTRANS)
Project Related
Devil’s Slide excavation completed for both tunnels
The notorious landslide-prone stretch of California Highway 1 at Devil’s slide has only about one more year until traffic bypasses it completely thanks to the twin bore tunnels that have just completed excavation. They still […]
Failures
Himalayan Highway Tunnel Collapses, Trapping 40
The collapse of a Himalayan highway tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, trapped 40 workers, sparking a challenging rescue operation. The incident occurred on November 12, 2023, and the workers are reported to be in good health, […]