Grouting work done earlier in the week was a possible cause of a bulge in the lining of a train tunnel under the River Thames. Two trains hit the bulge before the line was closed, but neither train derailed. [Source: New Civil Engineer]
Project Related
Devil’s Slide Tunnel Project Nearly Complete
The Devil’s Slide Tunnel Project was originally scheduled to open at the end of 2012, but it has been delayed slightly to an early 2013 opening. If you look at some recent photos, you can hardly tell that there is anything left to finish. I’ve been following this project since it started, since to me it represents the essence of geoengineering, with important roles played by geotechnical engineers, geological engineers, hydrogeologists, and of course geotechnical contractors and tunneling specialists. I thought it would be interesting to list a few of the posts I’ve written about the project over the years and present a bit of information I only recently learned. Click through for more. [Image: kxyoung on Flickr]
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Niagara Tunnel – Crappy rock, Horizontal stress, SLOOOOOW progress
[Updated November 17, 2009] A few new posts from Ontario-geofish [/Updated]
Those with interest in rock mechanics and tunneling might be interested in this project. The Ontario Power Generation (OPG) company is the owner of a $600M (Canadian) construction project to create a third hydro power tunnel under Niagara Falls. Apparently the project is having all kinds of problems with overbreak in some very difficult tunneling conditions which means very slow progress and big $$ overruns. (Photo from niagarafrontier.com)
I’ve been meaning to post something on this project for some time. I admit that my perspective is biased by the viewpoint you can find on the Ontario-geofish blog. I’ve mentioned Harold Asmis before, he’s the owner of the OG blog, and a former OPG employee if I understand correctly. He left OPG for a career doing geophysics and earthquake engineering for the Nuclear Power industry in Canada. I highly recommend his blog, he has great insight into tunneling, earthquakes, siting of nuclear power plants not to mention opinions on all kinds of other things. His writing style is very colorful and entertaining as well.
So, Harold has written a whole series of blog posts on the Niagra Tunnel project, including a 5-part series entitled "The Disaster of the Niagara Tunnel" and a 4-part series called "Niagara Tunnel: doing it Right". He is not directly involved with the project, but his long career with OPG and related disciplines gives him some great insights. I’ve collected a list of some of his blog posts on the Niagara Tunnel project as well as a few other links about the project. Click through for the good stuff.
Project Related
Bertha Tunneling to Resume 1 Month Later Than Planned
The Seattle Tunnel Partners JV announced last month that tunneling on the Alaska Way Viaduct Replacement project will resume a month later than originally planned. The Bertha TBM will resume mining on December 23 after […]