Reader Service Number 1 · 2014-01-24 · 6.5-mile-long underground sewer linking Indianapolis’ two wastewater treatment plants. The Interplant Connect is a key component of the

Reader Service Number 1


Tunnel Business Magazine4 October 2007

TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine (ISSN 1553-2917) is published six times peryear. Copyright 2007, Benjamin Media Inc., P.O. Box 190, Peninsula, OH 44264.USA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted by any means without written permission from the publisher. Oneyear subscription rates: complimentary in the United States and Canada, and $69in other foreign countries. Single copy rate: $10. Subscriptions and classifiedadvertising should be addressed to the Peninsula office. Postmaster return form1579 to TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine, P.O. Box 190, Peninsula, OH 44264.USA

ColumnsEditor’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

View from the Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

My Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

DepartmentsBusiness Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

CONTENTSCONTENTSOctober 2007

21

16

Cover StoryMerco:Providing Specialty Solutions 16Merco Inc., based in Lebanon, N.J., has carved a niche for itself as a contractorby tackling the jobs that other people can’t or won’t do – including tricky bridgeand tunnel rehab jobs.

By James W. Rush

FeaturesTBM Tunneling for New York’s East Side Access 20Work is under way on this ambitious transportation program in New York Citythat will bring Long Island Rail Road trains in Grand Central Terminal.

By Desiree Willis

Developing America's Energy Future 24Roadheaders play an important part in developing infrastructure to access someof the nation’s oil shale reserves in Colorado.

Slurry Tunneling in the United States 26With the success of the slurry tunneling method on the Portland West Side CSOproject, could the time be right for further use in the United States?

By James W. Rush

Contract Termination Clauses 29Part I of a two-part series, this article takes a closer look at the “termination forfault” clause.

By Peter Kutil and Karl Silverberg

North American Tunnel Project Update 32A rundown of the latest activities at major tunneling projects around the UnitedStates and Canada.

By Jack Burke



Innovation and the UndergroundIn the October issue of Tunnel Business

Magazine, we typically profile some of the leadingcontractors serving the North American market.This year, we profile Merco Inc., led by Steve andMike Mergentime. Steve and Mike have done anexcellent job of following in the footsteps of theirfather, Charlie Mergentime, who is well known with-in the industry as a pioneer, in keeping his innovativespirit going following his death in 2004.

Merco typically keeps a low profile; the companyis found doing the small to medium size works thatother contractors can’t or won’t do. Many of theprojects they complete involve some special needs that call for theirexperience, hard work and a knack for coming up with new ways ofattacking a problem. Merco has a history that spans the heavy construc-tion market, from underpinning, foundations, bridge and tunnel works.Recently, they have successfully tackled tricky rehab jobs that require“out of the box” thinking that draws upon their broad base of experience.The full story begins on page 16.

Also in this issue, we profile the TBM work that is beginning as part of theEast Side Access project in New York. The East Side Access project willbring Long Island Rail Road into the Grand Central Terminal, and is one ofmany major transportation upgrades being planned for the city.

The $6.3 billion project involves TBM tunneling from the 63rd StreetTunnel into Grand Central Terminal, and chamber excavation at the ter-minal to house addition platforms. For more details, see the full articlebeginning on page 20.

Also being planned or under construction are the Second AvenueSubway, No. 7 line extension and the Trans Hudson Express. These andother major tunnel programs being planned across the country reinforcethe need to attract new workers and engineers into the industry. This isa problem that is being addressed at various levels by many groups andcompanies. At the recent Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference,scholarships were awarded to engineering students to garner theirinterest before they enter other fields. Shannon and Wilson’s RedRobinson, who serves on the executive committee for RETC, reportsthat interest in the RETC scholarship program is on the rise. When theprogram was started, there were more scholarships available than therewere applicants. This year, applicants exceeded openings for the firsttime. This is a small step toward meeting the need for qualified youngengineers in the industry, but it is a step in the right direction. For moredetails, see the My Turn article on page 42.

Regards,

James W. RushEditor

Editorial Council

Editorial & Advertising Offices:1770 Main St., P.O. Box 190 Peninsula, OH 44264 USA Ph: 330.467.7588 • Fax: 330.468.2289 Web site: http://www.tunnelingonline.come-mail: [email protected] Information:Wright’s Reprints Ph: 877.625.5295 • Fax: 281.419.5712

EDITOR’S MESSAGEEDITOR’S MESSAGE

Bernard P. KrzysPublisher

Robert D. KrzysAssociate Publisher

James W. RushEditor

Nick ZubkoAssociate Editor

Sharon M. BuenoKatherine Fulton

Keith GribbinsBrad Kramer

Jason MorganContributing Staff Editors

W.M. ConleyCreative Director

Edward A. HaneySenior Graphic Designer

Sarah E. HayesChris Slogar

Elizabeth C. StullGraphic Designers

Kelly DadichMarketing Manager

Dan SiskoGreg Thompson

Regional Sales Representatives

Alexis R. TarbetCirculation Manager

ChairmanGary Brierley, P.E.Brierley Associates, Denver

Randy Essex, P.E.Hatch Mott MacDonaldRockville, Md.

Roberto GonzalezIzquierdoMoldequipo InternacionalTepotzotlan, Mexico

Dr. Levent Ozdemir, P.E.Colorado School of MinesGolden, Colo.

Bob PondFrontier-KemperEvansville, Ind.

George YoggyGCS LLCAllentown, Pa.

William H. EdgertonJacobs AssociatesSan Francisco

Joe GildnerSound TransitSeattle

Boro LukajicConsulting EngineerMississauga, Ont.

Dru DesaiDMJM+HARRISBaltimore

Ted BuddKenny ConstructionWheeling, Ill.

David CaidenArupNew York, N.Y.

Rick Switalski, P.E.NEORSDCleveland, Ohio

MEMBER



Putzmeister America Acquires Allentown Equipment

Effective July 2, 2007, Putzmeister America Inc., officiallyacquired Allentown Equipment of Pennsylvania, making it awholly owned subsidiary within the global Putzmeister Group.With over 95 years in business, Allentown is the industryleader in the design and manufacture of wet and dry processshotcrete equipment for underground, refractory, repair and new construction industries. To reflect the new affiliation,the company name was changed to Allentown ShotcreteTechnology Inc., a subsidiary of Putzmeister America Inc.

As a result of the acquisition, the two global organizationswill bring together over 50 complementary products to provide the most comprehensive range of sprayed concreteequipment for large and small applications. From theirAllentown, PA., location, Allentown Shotcrete Technologywill continue production of their reputable range of pressuretank guns, rotor guns, rotary bowl guns, wet process pumpsand high pressure pumps. Plus, due to their shotcretingexpertise, Allentown will become the focal point in handlingmajor North American underground construction projectsfor the worldwide Putzmeister organization.

Dave Adams, president and CEO of Putzmeister AmericaInc., will now also assume the role as CEO of AllentownShotcrete Technology Inc. Patrick Bridger, recently promotedas president of Allentown, will continue in this key position, andreport to Adams.

“The acquisition greatly expands our product line to offercustomers the widest range of trailer-mounted gunite andshotcrete models produced in America, to the highly extensiveline of track- and truck-mounted robotic equipment from thePutzmeister Underground Construction division in Germany,”said Adams. “Allentown also brings a quality reputation, leading market position and knowledgeable personnel to thePutzmeister team.”

“In addition, we anticipate mutually beneficial growth oppor-tunities,” noted Adams. “Allentown will fully utilize Putzmeister’sworldwide technical, sales and marketing resources to promotethe company’s shotcrete products on a more global basis.Concurrently, Putzmeister will benefit from Allentown’s domi-nance in the underground and refractory markets to increase thelevel of Putzmeister product exposure in these specialized fields.”

“We’re excited about joining the Putzmeister Group.Although our business operations will remain virtuallyunchanged in Allentown, we’re anxious to begin our addedrole as the U.S. outlet for overseeing highly technicalshotcreting projects in North America, and distributingapplicable worldwide Putzmeister products here,” saidBridger. “This will result in the customer receiving thebest equipment choice for their specific job needs — fromtunneling and mining to refractory and repair work.”

“We clearly saw the strategy of the acquisition and felt it wasa sound investment,” said Vicki Fox, managing director ofEmory & Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the investment bankingfirm advising Putzmeister during negotiations. Terms of thetransaction were not disclosed.

A ceremonial event was held at the Racine Marriott inWisconsin, whereby the contract was signed among 20 peoplein attendance. To welcome Allentown personnel to thePutzmeister team, Dave Adams presented gold Putzmeisterpins to Patrick Bridger, Allentown president and GeorgeYoggy, 40-year shotcrete industry veteran of Allentown.

A symbolic celebratory champagne toast recognized thesuccessful completion of the acquisition and those instrumen-tal in its process. In particular, this included Adams, Bridgerand Yoggy along with Felix Selinger of Putzmeister AG andVicki Fox of Emory & Co.

As a gesture of the newly formed business relationship,George Yoggy also presented the book “From Elephants toSwimming Pools”, which describes the history of shotcretingwithin the United States. The book specifically credits the 96-year-old Allentown organization as an integral part of themarket’s successful development, noting their invention ofthe “cement gun” and the importance of their registeredtrademark, “Gunite”. The book’s author had signed a per-sonal message in copies for Dave Adams and Putzmeisterowner, Karl Schlecht.

The momentous occasion concluded with the special unveilingof the new Allentown logo, which will be incorporated in allfuture promotions.

Business Briefs

(From left) Patrick Bridger, George Yoggy and Dave Adams unveil the new Allentown logo.

A ceremonial event was held at the Racine Marriott in Wisconsin, where Dave Adams (right) is shown signing the contract that

officially acquired Allentown Equipment effective July 2, 2007.

Tunnel Business Magazine 9October 2007

Route Chosen for Indianapolis’ Belmont-Southport Interplant Connection Project

City engineers have chosen a route for the design of a 6.5-mile-long underground sewer linking Indianapolis’ twowastewater treatment plants. The Interplant Connect is akey component of the city’s long-term, $1.8 billion plan toreduce raw sewage overflows to the White River and otherneighborhood streams.

Design of the Interplant Connect will be completed in 2008with construction expected to begin in summer 2008. Under thecity’s agreement with state and federal regulators, the projectmust be fully operational by Dec. 31, 2012.

When complete, the 12-ft diameter Interplant Connect willenable the city to better manage flows between the Belmont andSouthport advanced wastewater treatment plants.

“Currently two-thirds of our flow goes to Belmont and one-third goes to Southport,” said John Morgan, engineeringproject manager for the Department of Public Works. “Withthe interplant connection we will have more flexibility to deliv-er a higher volume of flow to Southport, especially during wetweather when Belmont is overloaded.”

Up to 320 million gallons of wastewater could flow through thenew sewer each day, with the highest volumes during and afterwet weather.

The Interplant Connect first will be used to manage flowsbetween the plants and prevent sewer overflows into the WhiteRiver near Southern Avenue. After the city finishes constructionof the Fall Creek-White River Deep Tunnel in 2025, theInterplant Connect will convey up to 150 million gallons per dayfrom the deep tunnel to the Southport treatment plant followingwet weather.

PROJECT AT A GLANCEProject Location: Indianapolis, Ind.Owner: City of Indianapolis, Department of Public WorksProject Description: Approximately 35,000 lf of sewerpipeline with multiple access and connection structuresand a 75 mgd pump station. Approximately 29,000 lfwill be 144-in. ID and will be constructed by tunneling.Approximately 6,000 lf will be 120-in. ID and is antici-pated to be constructed by open-cut methods.Tunnel Depth of Cover: Typically 20 to 60 ft of coverabove the tunnel crown.Typical Ground Conditions: Outwash sands andgravels, with occasional strata of cohesive till.Groundwater elevations range from at the crown to up to about 20 ft above the crown.Tunnel Method: Pressurized face TBM.Anticipated Tunnel Lining: Single-pass bolted and gasketed precast concrete segment lining.Prime Consultant/Project Manager: Earth Tech Inc.Geotechnical/Tunneling Consultant: PB Americas Inc.Design Completion Date: April 2008Bidding Period: May-June 2008Construction Completion Date: Dec. 2012Project Contact: Steve Nielsen, Project Manager, Earth Tech (317) [email protected]: www.indycleanstreams.org


Three Killed in Accident at Indiana MineSite — Frontier Constructors Co-FounderDan McFadden Among Dead

Three people, including Frontier Constructors co-founderDan McFadden, were killed Aug. 10 after a sinking bucket suddenly tilted, causing them to fall down a 530 foot deepmine shaft. The other men were Mining Group ManagerChristopher T. Richardson, 38, of Cedar Bluff, Va., andProject Engineer Jarred A. Ashmore, 23, of Henderson, Ky.Both worked for Evansville, Ind.-based Frontier-KemperConstructors, Inc., which was contracted by Gibson CountyCoal LLC to construct the shaft. The work was nearly completed.

McFadden, 66, founded Frontier Constructors with DykeHowell in 1965. After a series of joint ventures, the compa-ny merged with Kemper Construction in 1977 to becomeFrontier-Kemper. McFadden retired in 1995 and was livingin Greybull, Wyo. Howell retired the same year and now lives in Florida. They were in Indiana as part of thecompany’s celebration of the 100th year anniversary of thefounding of Kemper Construction, the 45th anniversary ofthe founding of Frontier-Constructors and the 32ndanniversary of the merger. McFadden was born in MountVernon, Ind., graduating in 1963 with an Engineer of Minesdegree from Colorado School of Mines. Dyke Howell graduated the same year and two years later they startedFrontier Constructors in Evergreen, Colo. The companyfocused on mine shafts, slopes and related work, comple-menting Kemper Construction’s civil construction base.The company established its headquarters and yard inIndiana in 1975 to better serve the Midwestern andAppalachian coalfields.

Frontier-Kemper’s Bob Pond, also a classmate of Dan and Dyke, told TBM that “In the nearly 3O years we worked closely together, I was lucky to know Dan on many levels:close friend, hunting partner, ‘runnin’ buddy’ and employer.Dan was passionate about everything he did and cared about,most of all his family and Frontier-Kemper. He understoodthat any fool with a checkbook can buy equipment, but sur-rounding yourself with the best and most loyal people youcan find is the real key. Most of all, he was the real deal …scratch Dan, you got more Dan. Most members of today’sFrontier-Kemper family never had the honor of working withDan, but his legacy — hard work, best people, intelligentrisk-taking —lives on.”

Ashmore and Richardson were up-and-comers within theFrontier-Kemper community. Ashmore was from a Kentuckycoal mining family and earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Evansville. Richardson, a SouthwestVirginia native, had in 15 years bootstrapped his way up fromminer, recently being promoted to Mine Construction GroupManager in charge of all FKCI’s coal work.

“The death of Jarred and Todd is not only a tragic andincurable loss to their families, but also to their extendedfamily at Frontier-Kemper. All we can do is honor their lives and their legacies by following the lamps they lit tomake FKCI a great place to work and a great company,”Pond said.

Baystate Environmental ConsultantsJoins GZA GeoEnvironmental

GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., a leading environmental andgeotechnical consulting firm in the Northeast, has announcedthat Baystate Environmental Consultants Inc. (BEC) of EastLongmeadow, Mass., and East Hartford, Conn., has joined thecompany and expanded GZA’s capabilities in Massachusettsand Connecticut.

BEC will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of GZA.BEC has been providing civil engineering, environmentalpermitting and water resource expertise in the Northeast forover 35 years. Whether it’s performing environmentalimpact studies for major construction projects, working withpublic and private water supply systems or designing com-mercial and residential development projects, BEC’s civilengineers and environmental scientists work hand-in-handto guide their clients through the environmental permittingand design process. The firm’s clients include architectsengineers and planners; federal and state government agencies; municipalities; and private developers.

BEC will continue to operate from its East Longmeadow,Mass., location. The East Hartford, Conn., office will mergeinto GZA’s newly expanded office in Bloomfield later this year.GZA consolidated its Hartford area operations in Bloomfield,Conn., last September, combining staff from its long-termVernon location with the staff from Environmental RiskLimited (ERL), which joined GZA in 2006. The addition ofBEC will allow GZA to offer expanded professional servicesand technical capabilities, creating one of the most experiencedand versatile consulting firms in the Connecticut River Valley.

“BEC is a well respected name in the industry with astrong culture of providing individualized service for all oftheir clients,” said William R. Beloff, President and CEO ofGZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. “They share our commitmentto bringing efficient solutions for all of their client’s individualneeds. Their knowledge and expertise will further enhanceour continued commitment to the highest level of services forall of our existing and new clients.”

Founded in 1964, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. is a multi-dis-ciplined firm providing environmental consulting, geotechnicaland civil engineering, environmental remediation contracting,regulatory compliance, litigation support, air quality, solidwaste services, specialty construction, occupational health andsafety, and site development services.

Manitowoc Acquires Shirke Tower Crane Business

The Manitowoc Co. Inc. has acquired Shirke ConstructionEquipments Pvt. Ltd. Shirke is headquartered in Pune,India, and manufactures Potain tower cranes under license.It is also the Potain distributor for India, Sri Lanka, Nepal,Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

The newly acquired business will operate in the future as Potain India Pvt.Ltd. and will contin-ue to manufacturetower cranes underthe Potain name.

Business Briefs


Eric Etchart, president of Manitowoc Crane Group, said theShirke acquisition was an excellent fit for the company.

“The Shirke acquisition fits with MCG’s policy of providingindustry leading customer service through strong local repre-sentation,” he said. “Customers in India and the surroundingregion will benefit from our investment. In addition, Potain’sresources and capability in the global tower crane market willbe further strengthened.”

The acquisition gives Manitowoc CraneGroup a strong presence in the fast-grow-ing Indian market. The company has alsoannounced plans for a new ManitowocCrane CARE facility to ensure its customers in the region receive the veryhighest levels of service.

T. R. Badarinarayan, chief executiveofficer of Shirke ConstructionEquipments Pvt. Ltd., said the timingof the MCG acquisition was perfect.

“We have been selling tower cranes inIndia for well over 30 years and knowthe market better than anyone,” he said.“The economic growth over the past fewyears represents the start of a new era in India’s construction history. Ourincorporation into the Manitowoc CraneGroup will allow us to continue to servethe market from a position of strength.”

Shirke has been in the constructionindustry since the 1940’s. Since the 1970’sit has focused on tower cranes. Theemployees and management of Shirkewill continue in their current roles.

Etchart said the Shirke acquisitionstrengthens MCG as a global entity. “Thisacquisition is a strategic move on our partthat extends our manufacturing capacityand our global footprint,” he said. “Itdemonstrates that we are focused onmaintaining and developing our positionas a leader of the lifting industry, deliver-ing maximum value to our customers.”In other news, Manitowoc announced thatit has broken ground on a $7.4-millionaddition to its Port Washington, Wis.,facility in the United States.

The 23,000-sq ft addition will house anew machining center as well as a4,000-sq ft painting area. With this newaddition, the Port Washington facilitywill be responsible for building theentire lower works of Manitowoc’sModel 16000, among other models.

Central to the new addition is the instal-lation of a new boring bar, which is a largemetal cutting tool. The boring bar at thePort Washington facility will machinecrawler side frames and carbodies.

Physical construction of the expansion began in early Augustand will be complete by January 2008. Installation of the boringbar will complete the project in June 2008.There are currently106 employees at the Port Washington fabrication facility; thenew addition will create 25 more jobs at the facility.

Larry Weyers, executive vice president for the Americasregion, says the facility addition is yet another example of


how Manitowoc Crane Group is responding to customers.“This new machining center at the Port Washington facility

means that Manitowoc Crane Group can add capacity and moreadvanced capability to our US-based manufacturing

operations,” he says. “This not only helps the local economyin terms of job creation, but continues the tradition of theManitowoc Crane Group being a manufacturing leader in allof the regions that it serves throughout the world.”

ISUFT Call for PapersThe 5th International Symposium on Underground

Freight Transportation by Capsule Pipelines and OtherTube/Tunnel Systems (ISUFT) 2008 (www.isuft.com) will beheld March 20-22, 2008, at the University of Texas atArlington campus, and organized by Center for UndergroundInfrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE).

Interested persons are invited to submit an abstract coveringrelevant topics, including:

• Pipeline transport• Underground freight transport systems • Underground construction technology • Modern tunneling technologies• Design of capsules and vehicles used in underground

freight transport • Cost and economics of underground freight transport systems • Legal and environmental aspects of underground

freight transport • Geology and Geotechnical Issues

For more information, visit www.isuft.com, or contact BehnamHashemi, Research Assistant, Center for UndergroundInfrastructure Research & Education (CUIRE), at (817) 272-5695 or [email protected].


Miller to Lead MEYCO Sales and ServiceThe Admixture Systems business of BASF, along with

MEYCO Equipment, a division of BASF ConstructionChemicals, now offers full sales and service support for thecomplete line of MEYCO sprayed concrete equipmentwithin the NAFTA underground construction market.

To lead this initiative, BASF has appointed Mr. GregoryJ. Miller as Equipment Sales Specialist. In this role he willfacilitate equipment sales and service and manage the

spare and wear parts busi-ness. He will also play a keyrole representing the BASFUnderground Construction(UGC) Group in the NAFTAregion in equipment-relatedresearch and developmentprojects, working closely withthe MEYCO sales and engi-neering staff in Switzerland.

Miller comes to BASF with21 years of equipment sales,service and manufacturingexperience, with nine of those

years specializing in shotcrete equipment and application.“With the combination of our worldwide resources forunderground, the domestic availability of MEYCO equip-ment and the experience and dedication of Greg Miller, theUnderground Construction Group is poised and ready tomeet the growing demands of our customers,” stated ChrisGause, Area Manager for the UGC NAFTA group of BASF.

A Swiss based company, MEYCO has been the marketleader in shotcrete equipment for nearly five decades.The company’s product portfolio includes wet-sprayingand dry-spraying machines, manipulators and completemobile units to offer customized solutions to the under-ground construction market.

Palermo Elected to UCA Executive CommitteeRobert J. Palermo, P.E. of GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. has

been elected to the executive committeeof the Underground ConstructionAssociation of the Society for Mining,Metallurgy and Exploration.

Palermo joined GZA in 1978 and is currently a Senior Principal. He has beeninvolved in underground design and construction for 34 years. He is a licensedengineer in 13 states and has extensiveexperience in all aspects of geotechnicalengineering and underground construction. His experienceincludes all aspects of complex projects involving geotechnicalengineering and underground construction, including tunnel-ing in soil and rock, cavern design, lateral support systems, riskassessment, geotechnical instrumentation, seismic design,underpinning, construction dewatering and blasting.

Palermo served as the Chief Geotechnical Engineer during thepreliminary design of the $17B Second Avenue Subway and iscurrently involved with work for the contractor on No. 7 Lineextension, both in New York City. He has also worked on majorunderground transportation projects in Baltimore, Seattle, Miamiand Boston. Palermo is an active member of the UndergroundConstruction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgyand Exploration and was chairman of their George A. Fox confer-ence on underground construction for the past two years. He iscurrently serving as a committee member for that conference aswell as serving on the North America Tunneling Conference 2008organizing committee. He is also a member of the Moles.

“We congratulate Bob on being elected to this importantindustry leadership position,” said William R. Beloff,President and CEO of GZA. “His extensive expertise andexperience have been invaluable to our many clients and wetrust that his strong leadership skills bring great value to theUnderground Construction Association.”

Miller

Palermo

People

Business Briefs

A 9.7 m (31.8 ft) TBM will be the first Robbins machine tobore on one of Europe’s largest tunneling projects in recentmemory. The contract was signed with the Consorzio MonteCeneri (CMC) JV—a consortium of CSC, Lugano, FrutigerSA, Thun, Rothpletz, Lienhard + Cie, and Aarau—for a 2.4km (1.5 mi) long adit tunnel on the Ceneri Base Tunnel Projectin Switzerland. The new tunnel is part of the much largerAlpTransit Project and will connect with the 57 km (35 mi)long Gotthard Base Tunnel.

The Main Beam TBM will be completely refurbished nearMilan, Italy and the cutterheaddiameter will be changed from7.6 m (24.9 ft) to 9.7 m (31.8 ft).The cutterhead will be the firston the AlpTransit Project to uti-lize larger diameter 19 inch cut-ters. The TBM previously boredsuccessfully on the main head-race tunnel of the KárahnjúkarHydropower Project in Iceland.

Located in Switzerland’sCanton Ticino region, the CeneriBase Tunnel Project will involveconstruction of twin 15.4 km (9.5mi) long main rail tunnels runningin North and South directions forowners AlpTransit. The tunnelsare part of AlpTransit’s massiveproject to provide more efficientrail freight routes via base tunnelsthrough the Gotthard and Cenerimountain ranges. Currently,freight trains traveling up themountain ranges require pushinglocomotives due to steep gradi-ents. The base tunnels will pro-vide a route for freight trains with

minimum elevation gain and will shorten passenger traintimes between Zurich and Milan. Some route times, such asthe trip between Lugano and Bellinzona, will be cut in halfwith the completion of the Ceneri tunnel.

The adit tunnel in Sigirino, to be bored by the RobbinsTBM, will join up at approximately the halfway point of themain rail tunnels. Rock in the area consists of schist, Swissmolasse, and Ceneri orthogneiss with a UCS of 30 to 130MPa (4,300 to 18,800 psi). The geology is expected to begood for TBM boring, with no squeezing ground or largewater inflows anticipated. New probe drills, being designedin Robbins U.S. locations, will be used to verify ground conditions ahead of the TBM. Temporary tunnel supportincluding rock bolts, ring beams and shotcrete will be useddepending on geology. Excavated material will be tem-porarily stored at a lot onsite for later preparation as rockaggregate for concrete.

The TBM will bore through geology similar to that foundin the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which used 17-inch back-load-ing disc cutters. Larger diameter 19-inch back-loading disccutters, first pioneered at the Kárahnjúkar HydroelectricProject, offer a higher cutter load and longer cutter life thanthe 17-inch design, resulting in fewer cutter changes.

Adit tunneling using the Robbins TBM is scheduled to beginin Autumn 2008 and will take about two years to complete.



Global

Robbins TBM Will Kick Off Construction of the Ceneri Base Tunnel

Installation caverns will be used as TBM launch sites and underground concrete batching plants for the Ceneri Base Tunnel in Switzerland.


The View from the Hole

We would all agree that we arefalling behind in creating newlyminted engineers fascinated enoughby the work to be wet, cold anddirty, wed, “and still have time forromance.”SOB’s got a solution…

Some years ago, law school enroll-ment by women and minorities followed the rising popularity of theTV show “L.A. Law.” The WallStreet Journal reported that aCongressional Task Force was seeking ways to attract morewomen and minorities to engineer-ing and science. “These people doimportant, dramatic things,” teamleader Susan Coady Kemnitzer said,“and still have time for romance.”

Pointing to the spike in law schoolenrollment that coincided with theshow, Kemnitzer said that a televi-sion engineering melodrama could“do wonders for undergraduateinterest in the field.”

Today we know that the ideanever really took hold, but it wasprobably because Kemnitzer didn’thave a top-notch screenwriter onher staff. Imagine what might havebeen at the top of the charts if shehad. Here are a few samples towhet your appetite.

Bridge

[Open with a subdued WhitneyHouston melody]

A couple of yuppies want to get to the other side of the river with-out getting the tires of theirBeamers wet. They look throughForbes, GEO and GQ without find-ing any self-help articles on thesubject. They look in the YellowPages and choose a civil engineerso that they will not offend any-one’s sensibilities.

The civil engineer designs the bridgewith a modified Patten truss, super-imposing it on a corbelled arch, butthe yuppies consider it too Spartanand order a bridge from the SharperImage, scheduling an erection partyafter the next Bronco game.

Due to a warehouse mistake, thebridge is too short. The yuppies eatcrow and ask the civil engineer tofix it. The engineer dredges theriver to narrow the channel and thebridge fits.

[Close with a passage from “AlsoSprake Zarathustra”]

Sewer

[Open with the theme from “All inthe Family”]

A Neighborhood Watch groupnotices that a home occupied bysome college students is grossly mal-odorous. Gaining entry by the ruse ofa Tupperware party, the group findsthat the toilets are badly backed upbut that the students didn’t noticebecause they cook at home a lot.

The group makes placards anddemonstrates on the steps of CityHall, making the Mayor late for hismassage, so Congress appropriates$21,000,000 for a new sewer for theneighborhood.

The EPA looks in the Yellow Pagesand hires a hydraulics engineer todesign the new sewer. She checks theelevations of all the houses and of themain sewer, figures out what size thesewer pipes have to be and where theyshould go, drawing it all up on a bigdisplay. The City hires a contractorwho digs up the neighborhood, puts inthe sewer pipes and fills in the holes.

The students can now smell whattheir food is really like and haveplastic surgery to look more likeprison inmates, who have betterfood.

[Close with the theme from “Aroundthe World in 80 Days”]

Office Tower

[Open with the theme from “WallStreet”]

An investment bank outgrows itsheadquarters and decides that itneeds to build an office towerdowntown to expand, and hires aconstruction manager to make thearrangements.

The construction manager has herstaff look in the Yellow Pages andhires a structural engineer to designthe framework for the building, anarchitect to design the exterior, andin interior decorator to make sure itlooks like a bank inside.

The architect and the interior dec-orator have artistic differences sothe structural engineer settles thematter by explaining that thestructure cannot accommodateeither of their designs.

[Close with “Solomon’s Song”]

Courtroom(Possible joint mini-series with LALaw and Hill Street Blues)

[Open with “Dueling Banjos”]

The Highway Department is suinga Contractor over faulty workmanshipthat led the new highway to collapsewhen a circus caravan traveled over itfor the first time. The stakes are high

Boosting Enrollment at Engineering Schools by Bob Pond

because the ensuing collisions causedthe elephants to suffer from whiplash.

The lawyer for the HighwayDepartment (Victor Sifuentes) looksin the Yellow Pages and hires a concrete engineer, who goes to courtand testifies that the concrete wasnot poured properly.

The lawyer for the Contractor (JoyceDavenport) looks in the Yellow Pagesand hires a concrete engineer, whogoes to court and testifies that theconcrete was poured properly.

The Highway Department’s concreteengineer is so persuaded by the tes-timony of the Contractor’s engineerthat he secretly tells Sifuentes thatthe Contractor is right and theyshould settle out of court.

The Contractor’s concrete engineeris so persuaded by the testimony ofthe Highway Department’s engineerthat she secretly tells Davenport thatthe Highway Department is rightand they should settle out of court.

Sifuentes and Davenport meet overdrinks to negotiate a settlement andfall in love, rent a hotel room, makelove all night and are late for court.

The two engineers meet for coffeeand decide to form a consultingengineering firm.

The circus goes out of business.

[Close with “Lara’s Theme”]

Seminar

[Open with “When You Wish Upon aStar”]

Three just-graduated engineeringschool classmates work at the same

consulting firm on the 24th floor andhave had a problem with ink leakingpast their plastic pocket protectors,ruining their shirts and blouses. The firm newsletter announces aSeminar on proper engineering attireso they sign up expecting to learn howto avoid this problem in the future.

They discover that sudden changesin atmospheric pressure in theirmorning elevator ride are changingthe internal dynamics of the fluidreservoirs in their pens, so after theSeminar they ask to be moved to alower elevation.

The firm, always eager to accom-modate the needs of its employees,

transfers them to the tunnelingdepartment and issues them chalkinstead of pens. They do not getink on their shirts and blousesagain.

[Close with “Way Down in theMine”]

Please send all royalty checks to:

Sweet Old BobPalatial Mountain RetreatShortstump, Indiana 47799

Sweet Old Bob

Bob Pond is vice president of Frontier KemperConstructors Inc., Evansville, Ind.



Constructing underground facilities can be com-plex and challenging work. Urban environmentshave existing utilities, buildings, street traffic andresidents and businesses that must be contendedwith – not to mention Mother Nature herself.

But rehab projects can be equally challenging.Maintaining the service that the infrastructure wasbuilt to provide while simultaneously upgrading itposes unique design and construction challenges thatcall for innovation and experience.

Merco Inc., headquartered in Lebanon, N.J., is a

contractor with a long history of infrastructure con-struction and rehabilitation that uses its expertise todevelop tailored approaches to solving complex prob-lems that is unique in the industry.

Merco, established in 1991 by Charlie Mergentimeand sons Steve and Michael, builds on the reputationof innovation forged by its company founder, whopassed away in 2004.

Charlie Mergentime was an industry pioneer whoplayed a prominent role in the construction of sub-way systems in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston,


By James W. Rush

Merco: ProvidingSpecialty Solutions

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Infact, he was recognized as intro-ducing the New AustrianTunneling Method (NATM) toNorth America as part ofWashington Metro construction.Another first was the introductionof horizontally jacked spiling tobore under an active railroad forthe Atlanta subway, allowing therail service to remain active.

He was honored by The Moles in1987 for Outstanding Achievementin Construction and by ASCE in2004 with the OutstandingProjects and Leaders (OPAL)award for lifetime contributions inconstruction.

“Mergentime was one of themost noteworthy visionaries inconstruction,” said PatriciaGalloway, president of ASCE atthe time of the OPAL award. “Hewas widely recognized as anindustry leader for developingnew construction methods.”

Carrying on the TraditionThe spirit of innovation that

Mergentime developed waspassed on to Steve and Michaeland is evident in Merco today. Askthe Mergentimes to tell you abouta unique project, and there is noshortage of examples. From rail-road projects to bridges to heavycivil, the company has built a nichefor itself in doing the jobs no oneelse can do or is willing to do.

“We started as a specialty con-tractor performing foundationwork and underpinning, and even-tually developed into a generalcontractor,” Michael said. “Nowwe perform a wide spectrum ofwork that is not run-of-the-mill.Just about every job we do hassome facet that is unique.”

“One thing our father stressedwas innovation. He was alwayslooking at ways to innovate, waysto give us an edge. Sometimes itworked, sometimes it didn’t, butthe idea of looking for a betterway to do something has been thebasis of the business and it hasserved us well. Other companiesmay have more resources, but

oftentimes you can compete byfinding new ways of going aboutbusiness.”

The spirit of innovation is suitedparticularly well to rehabilitationjobs. “We like to do the specialtyjobs where we can take advantageof our expertise,” Steve said. “Weare able to draw upon our history,which includes tunnels and under-ground work, bridges and marineconstruction. We have a range ofexperience regarding constructionmethods, including NATM, Drilland Blast, road headers andShotcrete, Support of excavationsystems and rehabilitation pro-jects. We also have great people,who will go the extra mile to getthe job done.”

Both Steve and Michael grew upin the construction industry, work-ing in the equipment yards and aslaborers, and piledrivers on pro-jects. That experience coupledwith the civil engineering studiesat Purdue University, and militaryservice has given the brothers aunique vantage point on the indus-

try. “It gives you a different per-spective on how to do things,”Steve said. “The main thing youlearn is that there is no silver bul-let; hard work is the key to suc-cess.”

Steve says that staying on top ofand expanding current practice ispart of the long-range planning atMerco. “Every few years we havefound it necessary to expand ourtoolbox,” Steve said. “We routine-ly do our own pile driving, drillingand blasting, concrete, design …there are a lot of different ser-vices we offer and we have experi-ence doing them.”

Innovation is not limited to con-struction techniques. The compa-ny also prides itself on its equip-ment modifications and enhance-ments – either in-house or withequipment manufacturers.

Work ExperienceThere are several representa-

tive projects that showcaseMerco’s skill set, including

17Tunnel Business MagazineOctober 2007

bridges and marine work. Beloware some of the more high-profilejobs that the company has com-pleted over the last few years.

Cameron Run Tunnel,Alexandria, Va.: This projectinvolved the rehabilitation ofseven 20-ft diameter tunnels, 200ft in length that serve as stormchannels underneath a railroad.Merco was contracted to rehab thecorrugated iron tunnels, whichwere 20 years old at the time andwere being deformed above thespring line.

Previous rehab methods hadfailed, leaving temporary woodensupports inside the tunnel as theprimary method of support. Mercodeveloped a rehab scheme thatinvolved expanding the existingsupport back out into ovate shapeand inserting steel supports. Once

the steel supports were set, Mercoused shotcrete to reline the tubes.

The railway above the tunnelsneeded to remain active at alltimes. A strict monitoring pro-gram was implemented to ensurethat the lines were unaffected bythe construction.

“That project involved jacking afailed liner back into place underactive railroad lines,” Michaelsaid. “That was something thathad never been done before.”

Bergen Tunnel, Jersey City,N.J.: The Bergen Tunnel rehabproject involved the reconstruc-tion of twin tunnels, 4,400 ft long,completed in 1877 and 1908,respectively. In a joint venturewith Obayashi, Merco worked towaterproof and enlarge the tun-nels, as well as install safetyupgrades. The project involved an

aggressive schedule, workingthree shifts a day for five days aweek. To complicate matters,there were restrictions on blast-ing, and all the while train traffichad to be maintained in the adja-cent tunnel.

Portions of the tunnel that werebrick-lined required removing thebrick and everything behind it, sup-porting it with lattice girders, rockbolts and Shotcrete and installingwaterproofing before placing thecast-in-place final lining.

Turkey Creek Tunnel, KansasCity, Mo.: This tunnel for the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers involvedthe rehab of a 1,261-ft long, 87-year-old drainage tunnel that wasfailing. Merco, again partneredwith Obayashi, was contracted tobring the tunnel up to date.

The project involved removing



muck, reconstructing the invertand relining the tunnel. “This pro-ject involved Shotcrete, massgrouting, contact grouting, rockbolts, dewatering – the full rangeof activities and construction tech-niques that can be done in a reha-bilitation job,” Michael said. “Thatdemonstrates our abilities as acontractor to provide custom solu-tions to the owner.”

Adapting to a Changing Market

“The market is much more com-petitive now than when we startedthe company in 1991,” Steve said.“There is a great need right nowfor new and rehabilitated infra-structure that eventually has tobe done, and I think you’ll seemore companies entering themarket as a result.”

Another area the Mergentimessee as a key to running a success-

ful company is developing andretaining employees in the family-run organization. “We have somereally good people in the organi-zation who are coming along andhelping the company grow,”Michael said. They bring freshideas to the table.”

Right now, Steve, president,and Michael, chairman and CEO,run the day-to-day operations ofthe company. Merco’s size, whichtotals 30 full-time employees andranges up to a couple hundreddepending on the size of the jobsbeing performed, allows thebrothers to keep in tune with alllevels of the company.

“Steve and I work as a team. Wereview everything weekly on any-thing from bidding strategies tomarketing, in addition to the pro-jects,” Michael said. “We are stillsmall enough of an organization thatwe can keep our arms around it.”

He added that although thecompany welcomes growth, thebrothers want to maintain anadvantage in the niche they havecarved out. “We want to be able tobid some bigger jobs, but at thesame time we want to keep someof the flexibility that we enjoy as asmall company,” Michael said.

“There are larger companies outthere that bid the TBM work orthe mass excavations that we don’tchase. We see ourselves in positionto compete on the medium-sizework and help owners find innova-tive solutions to their problems.”

But that doesn’t mean thatMerco will stand still. “The mar-ket is constantly changing so wealways have to reinvent our-selves,” Steve said. “We have tolook at new methods and tech-nologies to stay ahead of thecurve.”

James W. Rush is editor of TBM.


New York City’s East Side Access Project has been in the works for more than 30 years. The construction is needed to relieve heavy commuter traffic congestion between Queens and Manhattan. When operational in 2013, the new railline will serve approximately 160,000 commuters daily. The project will require the

construction of logistically challenging tunnels and underground caverns. Many of the tunnelswill pass close to existing subway lines and underground utilities, as well as through buildingand roadway foundations, requiring extensive monitoring and structural reinforcement.

Making ConnectionsThe project includes two tunnels for trains traveling in both eastbound and westbound

directions. The new route will allow travel from Manhattan to Queens underneath the EastRiver via an existing submersed tube tunnel. At a cost of $6.3 billion, the project will utilizehard rock TBM excavation for the Manhattan Approach Tunnels running up to GrandCentral Terminal, as well as earth pressure balance machines for tunnels on the Queens side.The TBMs will travel through the existing 63rd Street tunnel running underneath the EastRiver, which was partially excavated in the 1970s then cancelled due to lack of funding.

Under the current contract for East Side Access, both of the 8.5-mile long Manhattan tunnelswill be excavated directly under major structures in New York City, including Park Avenue andMetro-North Railroad lines. As they approach Grand Central Terminal, the tunnels will bifur-cate to form four tunnels. Ultimately, two underground chambers with upper and lower levelswill be excavated underneath Grand Central Terminal for commuters to travel on the new rail lines. The stations, which consist of 60 ft wide x 60 ft high x 400 ft long chambers, will beexcavated using drill-and-blast techniques in gneiss and granite geology.

Contracts for the Manhattan tunnels (both eastbound and westbound) were awarded in2006. A Double Shield TBM has been launched to bore the eastbound tunnel, while aRobbins Main Beam TBM is currently being shipped to begin boring the 7.7-mile longwestbound tunnel in October 2007. The westbound contract was awarded to Robbins by theDragados/Judlau JV for a TBM, back-up system, and spare parts, as well as continuousconveyors to be shared by both tunnels.

Monitoring Project ImpactThe dense urban surroundings of the jobsite required special procedures during geological

testing, which will continue throughout the project. Many types of methods were used todetermine the viability of the ground in the busy area, which includes a network of utility lines,subway lines, the Metro-North Railroad, Grand Central Terminal, building foundations, vaultsand heavily trafficked roadways.

The rock under Manhattan is generally classified as Manhattan schist, with some gneissas well. Overburden deposits vary widely throughout Manhattan and consist of glacial till, sands, gravels, silts and clays, though groundwater infiltration is relatively small. The

By Desiree Willis

TBM Tunnelingfor New York’sEast Side Access

tunnel design consultants, a Parsons Brinckerhoff/STVjoint venture, subcontracted Jersey Boring and Drilling(JBD) to drill exploratory boreholes, install piezome-ters to monitor groundwater levels, conduct laboratoryand in situ testing, and conduct packer tests for rockpermeability. Temporary closures of utilities, roadwaysand subway tunnels were required to conduct the tests.

The rock in the Manhattan tunnels was determined tobe a combination of schist, gneiss and granite, with aUCS of 11,600 to 29,000 psi and two fault lines. Tunnellining will consist of cast-in-place lining in weak areas,and possibly a combination of steel ribs, wire mesh androck bolts in other areas as a temporary lining.

Monitoring meters have also been installed inside someof the boreholes located in existing tunnels, subways andstructural foundations. The instruments will transferreal-time data via telephone lines to a computer centeroperated by the MTA in order to monitor vibration, tem-perature and movement during the tunneling operations.

Innovative Muck RemovalWith the recent launch of the 22-ft diameter Double Shield

machine for the eastbound tunnel, Robbins has installed a unique and extensive continuous conveyor system.Currently installed components transport muck from theeastbound tunnel across a busy roadway for storage in theSunnyside Rail Yard 490 ft away. Once the westbound TBMis in operation, the muck will travel from both TBMs on twoconveyors, then dump onto an 8,000-ft cross conveyor.

From the tunnels, muck is then transported up the 75 ftdeep Queens shaft using a steel cable vertical conveyor. At the top of the shaft, the muck is transferred to the RailYard using three overland conveyors and a radial stacker.The second overland conveyor, 120 ft in length, crossesNorthern Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in Queens. This conveyor has been designed as a totally enclosed boxtruss with 6-in. wide flange beams at all four corners to support it approximately 20 ft above the roadway and under existing MTA rail lines. The truss conveyor discharges onto another overland conveyor and then to theradial stacker conveyor in the Sunnyside Rail Yard. The

radial stacker can rotate through60 degrees to deposit muck in a kidney-shaped pile with a capacityof 11,000 cubic yards.

The extensive system, weighingin at 900 tons, also made for a chal-lenging installation. Completion ofthe enclosed box truss requiredthat Northern Boulevard be temporarily shut down and trafficre-routed. A temporary supporttower was built in the center of theroad so that the two halves of thebox truss could be lowered in bycrane and bolted. The whole con-veyor was then set atop A-framebents on either side of the road.

“A number of factors gov-erned the decision to use a

continuous conveyor system,” explained DeanWorkman, product manager of Robbins ConveyorDivision. “Space constraints and the location of themuck storage site meant that conveyors were the onlyfeasible option for muck removal.”

In general, conveyor systems are an important option for muck removal in densely urban jobsites. “Conveyorsare relatively quiet compared to muck cars, and are themost non-invasive method. Muck cars also require moremaintenance and are less efficient on longer tunnel lengths, where they must keep up with the excavation ratesof high-powered tunnel boring machines,” Workman said.

Designing for Efficient Boring and Swift TBM Retraction

The 22-ft diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM is special-ly designed for quick removal and transport, without majordisassembly. The design will allow the TBM to be retractedthrough varying cross sections of tunnel in order to bore asecond heading into Grand Central Terminal.

The cross sections consist of pre-excavated portions ofthe 63rd Street Tunnel. Though most of these sectionsare lined, cross sections tend to be rectangular-shapedrather than circular. The submersible tube has a smallercross section than the rest of the tunnel, at 15 ft wide x 15ft tall. The non-circular cross sections, together with a 3%upgrade of the tunnel floor, require modifications of boththe TBM and back-up system.

The TBM is designed to face these challenges using asegmented, bolt-only cutterhead for simplified disassem-bly. Hydraulic extensions of the vertical, front, roof, and side support structures allow the diameter of the TBMto expand and retract as needed for swift transport in varying cross sections. These expandable componentsmean the TBM can fluctuate from 20.0 ft in diameter whenfully retracted to 22.6 ft when fully extended. To deal with sloping floors, rails will be installed at precise elevationsalong the back-up and shims will be placed under the ties.

To monitor TBM performance throughout the project,a newly designed data logging system has been installed


on the machine. Real-time meters allow the mea-surement of parameters including cutterheadmotor amperage, cutterhead power and grippercylinder pressure based on a single TBM boringstroke. Data is relayed to computers viewable byDragados/Judlau crews to allow monitoring andadjustment of all TBM equipment. Data can alsobe generated in graphic form to view trends over time.

Launching and Retracting

Prior to its launch, the westbound TBM will bepartially assembled at the bottom of the 75 ft deepQueens Shaft. The TBM will then be transportedthrough the submersed tube and 1.6 miles of exist-ing tunnel for final assembly in a 22-ft diameter,65-ft long assembly chamber.

TBM launching and retraction are very particu-lar given the narrow size of various sections of the tunnel. TBM outer components, including theouter segments of the cutterhead and hydraulicsupports, will be transported to the assemblychamber. The “core” of the TBM, including theinner ring of the cutterhead, the main beam, grip-per assembly, and drive units, will be assembled atthe bottom of the shaft, directly on speciallydesigned transport dollies supplied by Robbins.

The dollies, on rails, will allow the partiallyassembled TBM to crawl forward as back-up decksare added. The back-up system will be partiallybuilt with a feature that allows some componentsto be shifted inward in order to accommodate thesmaller diameter of the submersed tube. Once theback-up is assembled, the transport dollies willallow the TBM to crawl slowly forward through thesubmersible tube and into the assembly chamberfor final assembly and TBM launch.

Retraction after the TBM has bored its firstlength of 1.4 miles will be a similar process. High-capacity transport dollies will lift the nearly fullyassembled TBM and transport it back through thefreshly bored tunnel after removal of the outer cut-terhead, ring beam erector and roof shield fingers.The TBM will then be re-launched from the assem-bly chamber, approximately 1,000 ft away from thefirst bore.

Overall completion of the Manhattan approachtunnels is expected to take about one and a halfyears. Contracts for the additional soft groundtunnels and excavation of the underground cham-bers underneath Grand Central Terminal will beawarded in late 2007. The East Side Access projectis one of several current projects for the MTA inNew York City, totaling more than $12 billion.

Desiree Willis is a technical writer for The Robbins Co. She is basedin Kent, Wash.



Today’s energy crisis has us asking, “What willwe do when the oil runs out? Will we ever breakour dependency on crude oil?” With prices continuing to climb, we hold our breath and

hope someone finds the answer before it’s too late. While many companies endeavor to harness the

power of the wind, the sun and even the atom aspotential energy alternatives, some are attempting tounlock the energy hidden in the earth. It may be thatthe energy of the future rests 1,000 ft below theColorado desert in the form of oil shale.

Oil shale is a sedimentary rock that contains kerogen, an undeveloped form of petroleum that can be extracted and converted into liquid fuels. The United States holds the world’s richest oil shaledeposits, an estimated 1.5 trillion barrels of oil – ormore than five times the stated reserves of SaudiArabia.

Northwestern Colorado, in particular, has been con-sidered a potential oil treasure for a century. As earlyas 1910, the Navy began developing the NavalPetroleum and Oil Shale Reserves Program. In the1970s, Presidents Ford and Carter encouraged andfunded the development of shale deposits in the West.A shale boom ensued. Oil companies began investingheavily in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. By the early1980s, however, several oil companies closed their projects due to high operating costs eating away atprofit margins. Extracting oil from shale, it seems, isno simple task. The current process, called “retort-ing,” is difficult, expensive, and labor and energyintensive. In 1982, the shutdown culminated with

Exxon’s closing of Colony Oil Shale in Parachute,Colo., a measure that resulted in 2,500 lost jobs.

Energy Potential UndergroundToday, emerging technology promises to breathe new

life into this broken dream. After the collapse of oil projects in Colorado, Shell quietly continued laboratoryand field research. They developed a promising methodfor the ground recovery process, known as the In-situConversion Process (ICP). Since 1996, Shell has success-fully completed small field tests on its privately ownedMahogany property in Rio Blanco County, Colo. With thisnew method, Shell projects that it could produce oil fromshale at the economically competitive price of $30 a barrel.

ICP effectively lays the technical groundwork for a fundamental shift in oil economics, and once again oil companies are interested in the West. However, since mostof the nation’s oil shale reserves rest under the control ofthe U.S. government, the next move is in the hands of theBureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM recentlyreceived 10 applications (by eight companies – a mix ofpublicly traded oil giants and a few privately held innova-tors) for pilot development of Colorado’s shale reserves.The program allows the companies access to public landsfor testing shale extraction technologies. BLM’s develop-ment of the gas-rich Roan Plateau calls for drilling to berestricted to about 320 acres at a time. Each company willnot be allowed to move to another area until the previousone is reclaimed. BLM projects that 1,570 new wells couldbe drilled in the planning area over 20 years.

Williams Highlands, a regional oil and gas company,already has eight wells in the area and plans to drill



another. The first obstacle hindering Williams Highlands’plans was how to get the equipment, materials and work-ers in and out of the drilling area. Williams Highlandsneeded a more direct route from the office in Parachute tothe Allen Point lease area. Williams Highlands’ WheelerGulch Project called for a new road to cut into the side ofa steep canyon in a series of four switchbacks and enter atunnel at about 8,000 ft in elevation.

For this massive project, Williams Highlands turned toKiewit Western Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corp. Startedin 1884, Kiewit has constructed miles of interstate highways and bridges, along with mass transit systems,airport runways, canals, dams and tunnels. They have thelargest privately owned fleet of construction equipment inNorth America, which allows them to rapidly mobilize thenecessary resources for any size project. They live bytheir fundamental goals of, “Build quality projects safely,on time, on budget, and with no surprises.”

Turning to RoadheadersFor excavating the 3200-ft long tunnel, Kiewit used a

heavy-duty MT 720 roadheader manufactured bySandvik Mining and Construction, one of the world’sleading suppliers of drilling and excavating equipment.

Roadheaders are powerful, self-propelled rock-cuttingmachines designed to excavate roadways, tunnels and chambers continuously without using explosives.Their ability to excavate the desired profile without

causing harmful vibrations is highly valued for both environmental and safety reasons. The Sandvik MTseries of roadheaders for construction are equipped withpowerful geometrically optimized transverse cutterheadsto give the best cutting performance in a wide range ofrock formations. The MT 720 is a heavy-duty boom-type roadheader in the 100-ton class and is outfitted with anautomatic profile and directional control system.

Kiewit said the roadheader excavation provided threemajor advantages vs. drill-blast:

• The daily advance rate was 50 to 100 percent higher• High accuracy of the tunnel profile and direction• The smooth excavation provided improved safety –

namely against rock fall – and reduced support costsdue to virtually no overbreak.

The Wheeler Gulch tunnel dimensions are 3,200 ft long, 24ft wide by 20.5 ft high, with a flat back. The tunnel slopes ata 12 percent gradient. Ground support for the tunnelincludes No. 8 pattern rock bolts with welded wire mesh.The Wheeler Gulch project also included the excavation of a340,000-cu yd pad and associated access roads, which wereexcavated using drill-blast method. The total excavation wasin shale, with a compressive strength of 85 MPa, on average.

Started in fall 2006 and completed last March, the roadand tunnel up Wheeler Gulch and through Allen Point isan important first step for Williams Highlands and forthe next phase of oil shale development.


SlurryTunnelingin the United States

By James W. Rush

SlurryTunnelingin the United States


While there has been a long history of slurry tunnel-ing for remotely controlled microtunnel applications inthe United States, the West Side CSO project inPortland is widely recognized as the first domestic useof the technique for a large-diameter, man-entry tunnelboring machine.

The slurry technique has been generally acceptedand utilized overseas, but the adaptation here has beenslow due to several reasons, including overall projectcosts and contracting practices based on the lowestpossible bid price. That may be changing, however, asthe West Side CSO project served as a successful casehistory for other owners and engineers consideringspecifying the use of slurry TBMs.

Background of Slurry TunnelingThe idea of using a shield, slurry and air pressure

to control the face for tunneling operations is notnew. In fact, components of modern slurry tunnelingdate back to subaqueous tunnels constructed in NewYork and London in the mid to late 1800s. In fact, in1874, J.H. Greathead patented a shield “that had aface through which slurry could be circulated underpressure to support the face and remove the spoil,”according to the Tunnel Engineering Handbook.Additional designs using slurry and pressure includ-ed E.C. Gardner in Houston in 1960, J.V. Bartlett inLondon in 1964 and Wayss and Freytag AG inGermany in 1974.

Wayss and Freytag worked in conjunction withHerrenknecht on its slurry machine, and the resultantMixshield began to gain acceptance throughout Europe,particularly for metro projects in urban areas, accordingto Jack Brockway, senior vice president of HerrenknechtTunneling Systems USA. “The slurry technology start-ed in Europe and has been spreading throughout Asia,”Brockway said. “Now we are beginning to see more andmore interest in the United States.”

Slurry tunneling provides an alternative method of mechanized soft ground tunneling to the earth pressure balance TBM method that has been widelyused in the United States. As opposed to EPB whichuses a screw auger to form a soil plug, slurry tunnelinguses liquid – the slurry – and a pressurized chamber tocounterbalance earth and water pressures.

Slurry machines are particularly adept at tunnelingthrough conditions that include high water pressure andflowing ground, whereas EPB machines are favored inareas with clayey soils and lower groundwater heads.

But despite a long track record of slurry tunneling inEurope and Asia, its use has been slow to catch on, untilnow, that is.

Portland’s ‘Big Pipe’ ProjectAs part of a $1.2 billion combined sewer overflow con-

trol program, the West Side CSO project in Portland,Ore., is recognized as being the first large-diameter tun-nel project in the United States to use slurry technology.


The tunnel spans 18,250 ft of 14-ft tunnel along thewestern bank of the Willamette River in downtownPortland. The ground conditions included sand/siltalluvium. Because the ground was more running innature than clay, which is well suited for EPB, andhad high head pressures, project planners decided tospecify slurry tunneling.

“In looking at the geologic profile, which was 100 ft below the groundwater table, we thought that slurry would be a good fit,” said Paul Gribbon, CSOtunnel project manager for the Portland Bureau ofEnvironmental Services, the project owner. “It was abit of a gamble considering that we couldn’t find arecord of its use in the United States, but it seemed tobe the most appropriate technology for the job.”

The Portland project used a “cost plus fixed fee”approach that incorporated a two-step, qualifications-based approach. Historically in the United States, tunnelcontracts are awarded to the lowest responsive bidder,which has had a limiting effect for using new technology.

“Slurry tunneling is a more expensive process thanEPB,” said Glenn Boyce, a consultant for JacobsAssociates who was involved in the West Side CSO pro-ject while working for Parsons Brinkerhoff. “Slurryrequires separation plants, screens and cyclones toremove the spoil from the slurry and send it backthrough. There is a lot more equipment involved and it istypically more expensive to acquire,so when a contractor is choosingmeans and methods to submit thelowest bid, slurry tunneling hasbeen avoided.”

Boyce added that most ownersare reluctant to specify equip-ment in conjunction with a low-bidcontract, instead allowing the con-tractor to select the means andmethods in accordance with tradi-tional practice.

In selecting the contractor,Portland considered experiencewith the slurry technique. Italy-based Impregilo, which had experi-ence with slurry tunneling inEurope, was ultimately selected asthe contractor in a joint venturewith S.A. Healy.

The West Side CSO project wascompleted early with advance ratesbetter than anticipated.

Ultimately, the reason to useEPB or slurry is to control theground and minimize surface set-tlement. The project team felt that because of the highgroundwater head, slurry was more likely to keep set-tlement to a minimum in the downtown area and nearcrucial infrastructure likes roads and bridges.

“If you’re going under a river, settlement isn’t as muchof an issue, but in this case we were going downtown and

we knew we had sandy soils that were better suited toslurry,” Boyce said.

Because of the success of the West Side CSO, Portlandis using the same approach on the second component ofthe Big Pipe tunnel program, the East Side CSO.Awarded to Kiewit/Balfour Beatty, the contract calls forsix miles of 22-ft diameter tunnel. “The method workedwell for us on the West Side, so we saw no reason tochange our approach for the East Side,” Gribbon said.

FutureNow that the Portland West Side CSO project has

been successfully completed, there is an increasedawareness of and interest in slurry tunneling. “Thedemand is there,” Brockway said. “There is a lot moreactivity and there seems to be more slurry projectscoming in the future.”

New projects include the Brightwater ConveyanceTunnel System for King County, Wash., thePittsburgh light rail tunnel under the AlleghenyRiver, and the Lake Mead Intake No. 3. “These aregoing forward with slurry tunneling because of thesuccess of the West Side CSO project,” Brockwaysaid. “If that project had not been successful, ownerswould have looked at alternate designs.”

Of course, the biggest determining factor in selectingwhich type of machine is best for the job is the ground.

“With an EPB machine, the 3 to 3.5 bar of groundwaterpressure is about the limit,” Brockway said. “Beyond that,you really need to consider using a slurry machine.”

Photos by Sue Bednarz, Jacobs Associates (used with permissionfrom the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services).


The last word any contractor ever wants to hear isthe word “termination.” Termination is an option thatmost owners only explore as a last resort. The conse-quences of termination of a contract may lead to finan-cial ruin for the contractor and may trigger personalguarantees given by corporate owners to suretiesunder the surety indemnification agreements. For theowner, more delays and more costs may result from atermination, with no guarantees that these costs willever be recovered. Because termination carries with itsevere consequences Courts characterize “default termination as a ‘drastic sanction’ [that] ‘should beimposed . . . only for good grounds and on solid evidence.’ [And] the burden of proof on the issue ofjustification for a default termination always rests onthe [owner].” (Sun Cal, Inc. v. United States, 21 Cl. Ct.31 (Ct. Cl. 1990).)

The stage of the work may enter the owner’s calcula-tion as to whether to terminate. If the contractor (orsubcontractor) is not performing in the early stages,termination may be a better option than waiting untilthings get even worse. The courts might ask: “If thecontractor was so bad to warrant termination, why did you wait until the very end.” Courts also considerthe doctrine of substantial completion that states that termination is no longer a viable option when the con-tract is substantially completed. Every case is unique,and termination usually represents some breaking pointin the relation between the parties.

This article discusses the typical contract termsand concepts regarding termination for fault and thecircumstances that may lead to termination. Thereare two types of termination, termination for fault,sometimes called termination for cause or termina-

tion for default, and termination for convenience. A termination for fault occurs when the contractorcannot perform its work to the required standards.Termination for convenience is governed by the contract and is a way for the owner to unilaterallycancel the contract even if nothing is wrong with thecontractor’s performance. This article will focus ontermination for fault, and termination for conve-nience will be reserved for a later article.

Termination for fault has two components. First is theprocedural aspects governed by the contract, such asnotice and a right to cure. The second is the substantiveaspect, such whether a material breach has occurred.

Procedural AspectsThe federal government’s Federal Acquisition

Regulations (FARs) provides a typical framework for contract termination provisions. The FARs state:“[T]he contracting officer shall give the contractorwritten notice specifying the failure and providing aperiod of 10 days (or longer period as necessary) inwhich to cure the failure.” (FAR 49.402-3 Procedurefor default) The FARs require that other criteria beestablished and contain many exceptions and specialprovisions, so the above requirement is only a generaldescription.

The American Institute of Architects, GeneralConditions A201-1997, contains similar require-ments. Section 14.2.2 states that: “[T]he Owner, uponcertification by the Architect that sufficient causeexists to justify such action, may . . . after giving theContractor and Contractor’s surety, if any, sevendays’ written notice, terminate the employment ofthe Contractor.”


by Peter M. Kutil and Karl Silverberg

Contract Termination ClausesPart I – Termination for Fault

The General Condition prepared by the EngineersJoint Contract Documents Committee (“EJCDC”),provides that the owner must give “the Contractor (andSurety) seven days written notice of its intent to termi-nate the services of Contractor.” And states further:“Contractor’s services will not be terminated if theContractor begins within seven days of receipt of noticeof intent to terminate to correct its failure to performand proceeds diligently to cure such failure within nomore than 30 days.”

If the owner has failed to follow the termination procedure such as notice, cure and certification asapplicable, a terminated contractor may be entitled torecover damages for wrongful termination.

Substantive AspectsTo justify a termination for fault, a contractor must

have “materially” breached the contract. This meansthe breach must be significant. Material breaches of thecontract that lead to termination usually happen whenthe contractor fails to perform the work in a proper ortimely manner because of lack of skill on its part, orbecause of financial problems.

Standard contract provisions often describe whatconstitutes a material breach. The FARs standard con-tract, provision 52.249-10, provides: “If the Contractorrefuses or fails to prosecute the work or any separablepart, with the diligence that will insure its completionwithin the time specified in this contract including anyextension, or fails to complete the work within thistime, the Government may . . . terminate the right toproceed with the work.”

Similarly, the AIA A201-1997 General Conditions,Section 14.2.1, states, the Owner may terminate theContract if the Contractor:

•Persistently or repeatedly refuses or fails to supplyenough properly skilled workers or proper materials

•Fails to make payments to Subcontractors for materialsor labor in accordance with the respective agreementsbetween the Contractor and Subcontractor

•Persistently disregards laws, ordinances, or rules,regulations or orders of a public authority

•Otherwise guilty of substantial breach of a provisionof the Contract Documents

The EJCDC General Conditions are substantiallysimilar to the AIA requirements.

Standard of Review Critical to understanding a contractor’s rights when

a termination occurs is understanding how courtsreview the owner’s decision to terminate. The owner’sdecision to terminate as rendered by a contractingofficer, or similar official, in many jurisdictions willonly be reversed if the decision to terminate wascapricious, arbitrary or clearly in error. Courts gener-ally give deference to the contracting officer’s deci-sions because the contracting officer is the personusually most familiar with the project. Some jurisdic-

tions, however, make no distinction between govern-ment work contracts and private contracts and rulebased on whether the contractor was in materialbreach of the contract and review the terminationwithout any special weight given to the governmentalofficer’s decision. It may also occur that the ownerbreaches the contract by interfering with the contrac-tor’s performance. When this occurs the contractorwill have a defense to the termination.

Surety’s RoleThe surety is typically put to the task of having to

respond to the owner’s termination of a contractor forfault. While the owner and contractor can litigate the propriety of the termination for years, the surety is put tothe task of responding immediately to the owner’s decla-ration that the contractor is in default, leaving the finan-cial consequences to be sorted out later.

Upon termination, there are four basic scenarios thatcan occur. First, the owner can hire a new contractor andcharge the cost directly to the surety. Second, the suretycan hire a new contractor directly. Third, with the owner’spermission, the surety can hire the terminated contractorto complete the work. This is done with contractors thatcan perform the work but have financial problems thatmay have caused the default. Fourth, the surety can tenderthe penal sum of the bond. Theoretically, the surety canside with the contractor and stand on the sideline and donothing, but this is rare and seldom seen. In the context ofeach of these scenarios there are also issues regarding thecontractor’s and its corporate owners’ indemnity agree-ments. The surety has a contractual right to recover itslosses from these indemnitors.

ConclusionObviously, the best thing is to avoid termination in the

first place. To start, contractors need to perform qualitywork. Next, contractors need to develop good workingrelationships with the owner and the owner’s consul-tants. This way, minor disputes that are mere mole hillsdo not grow out of hand and become mountains. If a con-tractor is experiencing financial problems, the contrac-tor has options. In such situations, contractors shouldspeak to the surety before performance suffers to see ifa financing agreement can be arranged. Experiencedsureties recognize that it will cost the surety more in thelong run if a contractor is defaulted or is forced to abandon a project. Owners too might be flexible at times.For example an owner may expedite the review and pay-ment of a claim, adjust the schedule pending the reviewof a claim, or modify the schedule, so that a contractorcan continue performance. The bottom line is that ter-mination is in no one’s best interest and all partiesshould take steps to avoid its undesired results.

Peter Kutil, Esq., and Karl Silverberg, Esq., are attorneys with thefirm of King & King, LLP in New York and focus their practice on serv-ing the construction industry. More information is available at their Website: www.king-king-law.com.



CALIFORNIALos AngelesEastside LRTTraylor/Frontier-Kemper JV

The Eastside LRT for the Los AngelesCounty Metropolitan Transit Authority ispart of a plan to provide public transporta-tion to neighborhoods in East Los Angeles.The project was completed in July 2007 andde-mobilized.

The project involved a 5.9-mile extensionof the Metro Gold Line, which included twinTBM-bored tunnels from 1st and Boyle to 1stand Lorena.

PacificaDevil’s Slide TunnelKiewit Pacific Co

The California Department of Transportation(Caltrans) is the owner and Kiewit Pacific Co. isthe contractor for this $275 million project toconstruct twin 4,100 lf, 30-ft-wide by 22-ft-talltraffic tunnels approximately 1 mile south ofPacifica. In addition to the tunnel excavation,there are two substantial civil packages, threeequipment chambers, nine emergency egresscross passages, the tunnel concrete and finishes,and the Operation, Maintenance and Control(OMC) building.

The Phase I civil work is complete and thetunnel ground breaking was completed onSept. 17. The tunnel crews began mobiliza-tion the third week of September and fullscale tunnel excavation is set to begin thefirst week of October.

The tunnel will be constructed throughgranitic sandstone, and shale formationsusing the NATM approach. Drill-blast,roadheader and NATM excavation methodswill be utilized.

Caltrans has assembled a knowledgeableteam that includes Caltrans’ constructionand engineering professionals, HNTB, ILFand the Dr. G. Sauer Corp. The Caltrans’team includes Resident Engineer, JohnMuench; Structure Representative, IvanRamirez; Construction Office Chief, Ed Der;and Assistant Structure Rep - Tunnels,Franz Langer.

Kiewit Team: Project Sponsor: RayBacken; Project Manager: Sean Menge;Assistant Project Manager: Ryan Sheedy;Tunnel Manager: Todd Cummings; TunnelSuperintendent: J.D. Martin; ConcreteManager: Mark Ramsey; EquipmentManager: Larry Andersen; and TunnelConsultants: Gall-Zeidler Consultants.Information: (650) 290-5100.

San BernardinoArrowhead East and West Tunnels Shea/Kenny JV

Arrowhead East Heading-Strawberry Portal— The Strawberry Tunnel excavation hasadvanced to more than (85 percent) of the drivewith 19,100 lf mined to date, with approximately3,300 lf left for completion of the mining.

Arrowhead West Heading-WatermanCanyon Portal — The Waterman Tunnel excava-

tion has advanced to more than 65 percent of thedrive with 12,900 lf mined to date, with approxi-mately 6,900 lf left to complete TBM mining.

Brian Fulcher, Project Director; BobGordon, Project Manager; Mike Belcher, PA;Stuart Lipofsky, Assistant Project Manager;Dana Downs, Project Engineer; Ron Walton,Superintendent-Strawberry; Bob Leslie,Superintendent-Waterman; Walkers —Danny Sayre, Don Fullmer, Jeff Bright,Bobbie Briggs, Ron Sammeth, BradleyLeonard, Jim Autry.

MWD: John Wallace, ConstructionManager; Mike Bell, Resident Engineer; IanWard-McNally, Deputy Resident Engineer;Dan McMaster, Assistant Resident Engineer.

Information: Brian Fulcher — (909) 883-3399 or [email protected].

San DiegoSan Vicente PipelineTraylor/Shea JV

The San Vicente Pipeline Tunnel is an 11-mile water conveyance tunnel being built forthe San Diego County Water Authority. The8.5-ft diameter pipeline will connect an existingaqueduct, feeding San Diego County, to theSan Vicente reservoir. The system will provideadditional storage during wet periods, andanother water source during dry periods orwhen the main aqueduct suffers a catastrophe.

Due to the varying geology, multiple tunnel-ing methods have been chosen. Two open faceshields, equipped with excavator arms, andreplaceable roadheader type attachments, willmine the conglomerates. These shields will bemanufactured by Construction TunnelingService. A refurbished Robbins main beammachine will mine the rock sections at each end.Conventional excavation methods will be used ina section of tunnel that interfaces the rock andconglomerate in an unpredictable fashion. Drill-blast, combined with Sequential ExcavationMethod techniques, will also be used here.

West Shaft Site/Reach 1: Shaft excavationis complete to 115 ft. Excavation of startertunnel for the rock TBM has been completedto 400 ft. The Robbins TBM has been deliv-ered from Reach 6, and assembled in thestarter tunnel. It is currently mining throughgranite requiring ribs, and has advancedapproximately 450 ft. Total Reach 1 length is4,400 lf.

Central Shaft Site/Reach 4 West: The CTSdigger shield has advanced 12,000 ft throughsporadically very hard, well cemented con-glomerate, to complete Reach 4 West.Excavation of Reach 3, which involves blast-ing through granite in front of the shield, hasrecently begun. Ground support consists ofprecast concrete segments, with backfillgrout. Reach 3 is approximately 550 ft long

Slaughterhouse Shaft Site/Reach 5: Reach5 has been completed, and the Slaughterhouseshaft is used only for access.

San Vicente Portal Site/Reach 6: Supportof the second CTS digger shield is from theSan Vicente Portal site. This machine is cur-rently 1,500 ft into the conglomerate of Reach

4 East, where theground has beenconsistently hard,and difficult tomine. This Reach is 22,000 ft.

Precast Concrete Segments: Manufactureby Traylor-Shea-Ghazi is complete.

Project Manager: Mike Jatczak Information:(619) 631-0777.

Fountain Valley Ellis Avenue Trunk SewerBarnard/Soletanche JV

The Orange County Sanitation Districtawarded the $31 million contract to the jointventure team of Barnard ConstructionCompany Inc. and Soletanche, Inc. NTP wasissued on Nov. 14, 2006. Final completion isMay 16, 2008.

The Ellis Avenue project is a portion of a$2.5 billion capital improvement program forthe Orange County Sanitation District. Theproject consists of a 5,437-lf, 9-ft diameter rib-and-board supported tunnel. A PVC liner isplaced behind the rib and boards to controlwater inflow to the tunnel. A 66-in. carrier pipewill be installed in the tunnel and the annulusbetween the pipe and tunnel lining filled withcellular grout. There are a total of eight shaftsto be constructed on the project, five of whichare to be access manholes to the pipeline. Theother three shafts include a junction structure,a diversion structure and an exit shaft forremoval of the TBM. The junction structureshaft will serve as the main shaft for miningoperations. Camp, Dresser & McKee andMalcolm Pirnie designed this project.

Project Highlights:* Excavate 45-ft-deep by 45-ft-diameter

junction shaft, 16-ft by 25-ft TBM retrievalshaft, and 30-ft by 20-ft-deep diversion struc-ture shaft

* Chemical grout 350 lf of alignment inadvance of tunnel excavation to consolidatearea of known petroleum contamination

* EPB mine 5,437 lf of 9-ft-diameter tunnelin soft ground using steel ribs and wood lag-ging boards for initial support

* Hand-mine 25 lf tunnel for connectionfrom TBM retrieval shaft to diversion struc-ture shaft

* Install 5,500 lf of 66-in. ID carrier pipewithin the tunnels and shafts and grout annu-lus between carrier pipe and tunnel

TBM mining has progressed past the two-thirds mark. Plans are under way to installthe 66-in. Hobas carrier pipe in the tunneland complete the concrete buildout of thejunction chamber and diversion structure.

Project Personnel (Barnard): Dan Schall,Operations Manager; Ben Campbell, ProjectManager; Brad Bush and Mickey Aliff,Project Superintendents; Boodie Hurd,Safety Manager; Patrick Stump and JordanHoover, Project Engineers; Andy Grangerand Bob Cayer, Superintendents; and IsmailBenamar, Tunnel Manager. Information:Shelley Burg (406) 586-1995.


Project UpdateNorth American Tunnel

by Jack Burke

StanfordStanford Linear Accelerator Affholder Inc.

This job consists of 1,600 ft of shotcrete-lined NATM tunnel. The first tunnel drive is acurved access tunnel 20 ft by 20 ft, 300 ft longthat connects to a 40 ft by 40 ft experimentalhall 200 ft long. On the opposite end of theexperimental hall is a 500 ft long X-ray tunnel20 ft by 20 ft. There is a 600 ft long undulatortunnel under the next hillside. Mining opera-tions have been completed for the undulatorhall tunnel and the mud-mat has beeninstalled. Final shotcrete lining is being placedby subcontractor Johnson Western and whencompleted the invert concrete will be placed.

Top heading mining of the access tunnelhas been completed, and crews are currentlymining the top heading of the far experimen-tal hall. An adit will be mined into the X-raytunnel so mining of the X-ray tunnel cancommence before completion of the farexperimental hall. All mining operationsshould be completed by the end of the year,with final completion in early spring.

Project Manager, John Forero; ProjectEngineer, Tolga Togan; Safety Manager, JackLynch.

GEORGIAAtlantaWest Area CSOAtlanta CSO Constructors

The West Area CSO Storage tunnel andPumping Station consists of 8.5 miles of 24-ftfinished diameter tunnel with three intakesand a pumping station. The two sections ofthe main tunnel will be mined using two 27-ftdiameter Herrenknecht TBMs.

42,400 lf of TBM tunnel excavation is nowcomplete. Clear Creek chamber and tunnellining work is under way and tunnel liningforms are being mobilized in the NorthAvenue Tunnel. A portable concrete batchplant has been set up on the Rockdale site tosupply tunnel concrete. All undergroundwork has been completed at the Tanyardsite, and the 24-ft diameter vent shaft hasbeen lined. Intake work is substantially com-plete at the Clear Creek and North Avenuestructures, with only the Tanyard intakestructure remaining. Work on the 85 mgdpump station is being performed by W.L.Hailey as a subcontractor to ACC. Pump sta-tion concrete work is approaching comple-tion, and M&E installations are on going.

Project Personnel: City of Atlanta —Construction Manager: Ken Johnston.Atlanta CSO Constructors — ProjectManager: Taro Nonaka; Assistant ProjectManager: Darrell Liebno; Project Engineer:Ray Hutton; Safety Manager: BarryJackson, Survey Manager: Bill Currier,Office Engineer: T.J. Kobayashi; TunnelEngineers: Adam Stremcha, James McNally,Percy Townsend, Stuart Sullivan, KoichiroShimomura, Raj Magam, Arash Sayyar;General Superintendent: Jeff Early;Assistant Superintendent: Ray Beesly. W.L.

Hailey & Co.: Project Manager: Randy Wiek;Project Engineer: Mark Palmieri. JDH JointVenture — Resident Construction Manager:Mike Robison; Resident Engineer: DaveBeck; Project Engineer: Ron Davis;Concrete Specialist: Parvez Sheikh; ProjectControls Engineer: James Talley; ChiefInspector: Dave Mundis. Information: (404)352-0701.

SnellvilleOwner: Gwinnett CountyNo Business Creek Tunnel and PumpStationMole/Jay Dee/Kassouf/Murray Hill JV

This project for Gwinnett Country wasawarded to the joint venture with a bid priceof $54,171,143. It is a 12-ft diameter sewerinterceptor/storage tunnel, 16,000 ft longwith five shafts ranging from 70 ft in depth tomore than 240-ft in depth. Also included isthe construction of a pump station and odorcontrol facility. Initial mobilization is com-plete and secant pile support is beinginstalled on the first shaft.

Key Subcontractors and consultants:Lachel Felice & Associates, AmericanShoring Inc., Reynolds Inc.

Project Personnel: Rod R. Shoulders,Project Executive; Norman A. Gray, ProjectSuperintendent; Ray Venturi, Superintendent;Jake Coibion, Project Engineer; LeveiusByrant, Health & Safety Manager.Information: Rod Shoulders, (440) 248-0616.

ILLINOISChicagoTARP Calumet Tunnel SystemKenny Construction Co.

The project involves the splitting of thetwo pump rooms at the existing CalumetTARP pump station, and the excavation of a20 ft diameter valve shaft for access to a newvalve isolation chamber where four 4 ft by 7 fthydraulically operated bonneted gate valves,a canopy system, sump pumps, a ventilationsystem and a bridge crane will be installedfor the separation. A stair and elevator system will be installed in the 320 ft deepshaft along with an access building at the surface after the chamber is completed. The existing wet well for the existing stationwill be divided by constructing a new dividingwall to full height of wet well shaft.

In addition to the valve chamber accessshaft, there are two 10-ft diameter utilityshafts to each of the two existing pumprooms, an additional vent shaft with another19 ft diameter west pump room Access shaft.The new access shaft also includes a stairwayand elevator with an access building at thesurface. Each of the existing bifurcation legswill be isolated with stainless steel inlet andoutlet flumes to/from the new isolationvalves. The existing pump rooms will be re-configured and upgraded for larger capacitydewatering pumps. All of the shafts havebeen excavated and concreted.

Personnel: Ted Budd, Tunnel DivisionManager; Mike Surman, Project Manager;



Christian Heinz, Project Engineer; DonnRenfro, Senior Staff Engineer; Ken Dumas,Safety Manager; Richard Dresser, Safety.Information: (847) 541-8200 or [email protected].

KANSASKansas CityTurkey Creek Tunnel RehabilitationMerco/Obayashi JV

This project for the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers started in 2006 has been remobilizedfor the start of season No. 2 with the work onthis complex and challenging job. It involves theconstruction of structural shotcrete lining andmass grouting of the upstream sections of thetunnel. Bypass piping installation commenced inSeptember and will be followed by invert prepa-ration and placement of the structural invertslabs. Repair work along the upstream channelhas been completed and preparations for thesurface grouting are under way. Project comple-tion is scheduled for June 2008.

M.V. Mergentime, Project Sponsor; LocSpenser, Project Superintendent; BogdanVelcu, CQC System Manager; Mike Levoyand Joey Jennings, Tunnel Superintendents;Bob Schoen, Project Manager for the Corp ofEngineers. Information: Mike Mergentime,(908) 730-8622.

KENTUCKYLouisvilleRiverbank Filtration Tunnel & Lift StationMole/Jay Dee/Murray Hill/Kassouf JV

This project for the Louisville Water Co.was awarded to the joint venture with a bidprice of $33,998,000. It consists of a fresh watercollection tunnel, 8,000 lf and 12-ft in diameter,and one shaft, 230-ft in depth. Also included inthe price are the construction of a pump stationand four horizontal collector wells.

The slurry walls for the work shaft arecomplete and excavation has progressed to adepth of 90-ft. The caisson for Collector WellNo. 2 is complete and crews are beginningthe construction of the caisson for CollectorWell No. 4.

Key Subcontractors/Consultants: LachelFelice & Associates, Bencor FoundationSpecialist, Reynolds Inc., Collector Well Int. Inc.

Project Personnel: Gevan McCoy, ProjectManager; Terry Lowe, Project Superintendent;Alesia Beck, Project Engineer. Information:Rod Shoulders, (440) 248-0616.

MASSACHUSETTESDorchesterDorchester CSOShank/Barletta JV

This project for the Massachusetts WaterResources Authority (MWRA) was awardedto the joint venture with a bid price of$140,000,000. It consists of two miles of 19-ftexcavated, 17-ft segment lined tunnel withone-pass lining from a single shaft. Both themining and receiving shafts have been con-structed. The EPB TBM arrived from Japanand was off loaded on Sept. 6. Assembly of

the machine is ongoing with completion andstart of TBM excavation expected to begin inOctober.Construction of the six drop shaftsconnecting to the tunnel are in progress.

Information: Steve Wardwell, (401) 941-1495.

NEW YORKNew York CityEast Side AccessDragados/Judlau JV

On July 10, 2006, the New York CityTransit Authority CC awarded the joint ven-ture of Dragados/Judlau the East Side AccessManhattan Tunnel Excavations for a contractprice of $427 million. The project is part of theconstruction program that will allow the LongIsland Railroad system into the GrandCentral Terminal on Manhattan’s East Side.

The project consists of 25,200 lf of 22-ftdiameter hard rock TBM excavated tunnels.There are four total tunnel runs, two are7,400 lf and two are 5,200 lf. The tunnels start from the existing 63rd Street terminus.The job shaft will be in Long Island City inQueens and crews will have to travel 8,800 ftto the heading. The drill and blast excavationconsists of two large crossover cavernsbetween tunnels that will be lined with reinforced concrete. Approximately 11,000 ft of excavated tunnel will be concrete lined.The project duration is 48 months.

This summer, Dragados-Judlau has com-pleted both starter tunnels and assembly ofthe first TBM. The second TBM is currentlybeing delivered on site from The Robbins Co.’sOhio yard. The Robbins conveyor systems,which include an 8,800 lf stationary existingtunnel conveyor, 90-vf vertical shaft belt and800 ft of overland conveyors to a dischargingstacker conveyor, are finishing installation andtesting is ongoing. The first TBM is near com-pletion of assembly including backup, and test-ing was to begin just after Labor Day withmining starting after completion of testing.The second TBM will begin being assembledearly September and should begin mining inearly November.

Project personnel — Project Executive:Jose Miguel Gonzalez; Project Manager: DonHickey; Project Engineers: Joaquin Fernandezand Julio Velez; Job Superintendent: DenisO’Neill; Equipment Manager: Louis Sanchez;Survey Superintendent: Jim Skura; GeneralSuperintendent: Terry Beesley; EquipmentSuperintendent: Jim Disley. Information: DonHickey, (718) 321-1818

New York CityWater Tunnel No. 3, Stage 2, Contract 538CSchiavone/Frontier-Kemper/Shea JV

New York Water Tunnel No. 3 currentlybeing constructed by Schiavone/Shea/FrontierKemper JV involves excavation of 27,178 lf of12-ft, 6-in. tunnel, concrete lining of 45, 899 lf oftunnel to a finished diameter of 10 ft, excava-tion and lining of nine shafts approximately 500ft deep, installation of stainless steel pipes inthe shafts, and building distribution chambersat the top of the shafts.

Crews have completed 18,700 ft of concretelining in the South Tunnel and 11,517 lf of con-crete lining in the North Tunnel. Currently,crews are moving the forms to the EastTunnel to begin concrete lining operations,and are starting grouting and patching opera-tions in the South Tunnel. Shafts 31B, 30B, 29B, 28B, 27B and 24B have all been con-structed. Shaft 25B will be completed this summer and Shafts 32B and 33B will befinished this fall. The stainless steel pipe hasbeen installed in Shafts 27B, 28B.29B and31B. The pipe is currently being installed inShafts 30B, 28B and 24B. Crews have alsostarted to build the Distribution Chambersfor Shafts 31B and 29B.

Excavation and final lining of five southshafts is completed and shafts are turned overto subcontractor J.P Picone for installation offinal stainless steel piping and fill concrete.Out of four north shafts, one shaft remains tobe raise bored, while slashing and concreteplacement operation are taking place at three shafts. Final contract completion is inJuly 2009.

Schiavone Project Manager: Anthony DelVescovo; General Superintendent: DaleEstus; Project Engineer: Florentino Sison.J.F. Shea Shaft Manager: Shemek Oginski;Shaft Superintendent: Mike Jennings; ShaftProject Engineer: Jim Rosteck. Information:(212) 564-8552.

NEW JERSEYSayrevilleRaritan River CrossingKenny Construction

On July 10, 2007, Kenny Construction wasissued a NTP by the Middlesex CountyUtilities Authority for the force main tunnelunder the Raritan River. The $41,150,000project consists of 280-ft deep caisson shaftson either side of the river and 3,900 ft of 15-ft, 6-in. in diameter segmental lined tun-nel. A Lovat EPB TBM will be utilized alongwith compressed air interventions. Once thetunnel is complete, two 60-in. force mains willbe installed and partially encased, leaving anaccess walkway above the pipes for inspec-tion purposes. Mobilization was scheduled forearly September.

Personnel: Ted Budd, Tunnel DivisionManager; Bob Rautenberg, ProjectManager; Mark Saylor, Equipment Manager;Mike Smithson, Project Sponsor; JoeJohnson, Electrical Superintendent; TomPeterson, TBM Specialist. Information:[email protected].

NORTH CAROLINACharlotteWachovia/Knight Theatre TunnelsBradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction has been awardeda design-build contract to construct twopedestrian tunnels under the streets ofdowntown Charlotte to connect a new performing arts center to undergroundparking. The work is part of Wachovia





Bank’s First Street Development Project.Teamed with Jenny Engineering Corp. ofSpringfield, N.J., a concept was developedincluding initial/final lining NATM andwaterproofing and a cast-in-place floor.

The subsurface conditions include rockand mixed face tunneling with about 16-ft to20-ft of cover. The 13-ft high x 16-ft widefinished horseshoe shell will be fitted withan architectural finish corridor in a followon contract.

Project Manager: Eric Eisold; GeneralSuperintendent: Jerry Simon; DesignEngineers: Prakash Donde and IwonaTarchala (Jenny Engineering).

OHIOClevelandMill Creek Contract 3KM&M&K JV

Concrete final lining to a 20-ft ID is com-plete. Shaft construction and connectorsewer installation continues.

Project Manager: Robert J. Kassouf;Project Superintendent: Ralph Dodero.Information: Bob Kassouf, (216) 651-3333.

ColumbusBWARIJay Dee/Michels/Traylor JV

The tunnel has been cleaned and current-ly working on the installation of the liner,which is a bond lining required for the fulllength. Crews have completed approximate-ly 30 percent of the lining and anticipatecompletion in mid-January 2008.

Personnel — City of Columbus, Division ofSewerage and Drainage: Gary Gilbert, CivilEngineer; City of Columbus, Division ofSewerage and Drainage: Tanya Arsh, SewerSystem Engineering Manager. URS Corp.:Designers: Douglas Uhren and TomRichardson; HR Gray, ConstructionManagement: Robert Scott, Sr. Mgr., JamesJoyce; Lachel & Assoc., Geotechnical Design:David Chapman and Glen Frank. Contractor:Jay Dee/Michels/Traylor JV: Michael DiPonio,Project Manager; Mark Lafaze, ProjectEngineer; Tim Awald, Project Superintendent.Information: (614) 491-9551.

ColumbusBWOAS IIMcNally/Kiewit JV

This project consists of a 167-in. excavat-ed diameter, 144-in. inside diameter con-crete segment lined, 13,200 lf excavatedtunnel approximately 60 ft below surface.It also includes one work shaft, four accessshafts and one interconnected structure atthe end. The geology is glacial clay, tills andsands with boulders. Included also is 5,000lf of surface sewer with two 400-ft lengthsof pipe jacking.

Project Sponsor: Larry Lenahan; ProjectManager: Tom Szaraz; Project Engineer:Gary Bulla; Project Superintendent: JohnHerward. Information: (614) 491-2800, Fax:614-491-2802.

ColumbusBig Walnut Sanitary Trunks SewerExtension

Site work is under way at the five shaftsites. Shaft 4 (mining shaft) excavation iscomplete. Drilling and shooting at Shaft 3 isunder way. Soft ground excavation at Shaft 2is complete, with vertical boring machineexcavation scheduled to begin soon. Softground excavation at Shaft 1 is under way.Tunnel mining operations are scheduled tobegin in October 2007.

Project Manager: Robert J. Kassouf;Project Superintendent: Bill McFadden.Information: Bob Kassouf, (216) 651-3333

OREGONPortlandEast Side CSOKiewit/Bilfinger Berger (KBB) JV

Mobilization to all seven primary shaft sitelocations has been complete with slurry wallsin place on four shafts. Each of the sevenshafts are approximately 50 ft diameter and130 ft deep, and located more than 100 ftbelow groundwater. Shaft excavation andtremie slab placement has been performedon two shafts while crews currently work atthe third site.

After completion of all equipment, plantand utilities at the main mining site, excava-tion of the 25-ft diameter slurry tunnel beganwith completion of the initial tunnel sectionand installation of all TBM trailing gear. The 30,000-ft long tunnel will be finished witha precast segmental lining that is currentlybeing fabricated in Portland by KBB and is approximately 15 percent complete. Thetunnel is divided into several drives along thealignment separated by the seven shafts. The first drive is approximately 4,200 lfwhere the TBM will enter the first shaft bythe end of 2007.

A slurry microtunnel boring machine isbeing used to complete more than 6,000 lf ofpipeline in depths up to 50 ft. The first of multiple drives has been finished and crewsare currently preparing to launch the nextdrive, which will be 1,100 ft in length. In addi-tion, a 200-ft long jack-and-bore tunnel hasalso been completed.

Project Director: Bill Mariucci; ProjectManager: Tom Corry; Safety Manager: PaulWeisheit; Quality Manager: Glen Tomack;Engineering Manager: Tony O’Donnell; Siteand Shaft Manager: Scott Wimmer; TunnelManager: Christof Metzger. Information:(503) 290-7000.

PENNSYLVANIAPittsburghPittsburgh Light Rail TunnelsNorth Shore Constructors JV (NSCJV)

North Shore Constructors, a joint venture of Obayashi and Trumbull Corp.,will be constructing 2,200 lf of 20-ft IDtwin tube tunnels using precast segmentsunderneath the Allegheny River, cut-and-cover tunnel including station shell, and

Tunnel Business MagazineTunnel Business Magazine

launch and receiving pits for the tunnelboring machine. Current work includescompletion of utility relocation, site preparation, support of excavation andTBM assembly. Subcontractor NicholsonConstruction has completed jet groutingon the North Shore and is relocating to thedowntown receiving pit area. Nicholsonhas also completed the CDSM wall on the North Side around the launch pit andcut-and-cover sections. The CDSM walloperation will also relocate to the SouthSide and receiving pit area. Excavation ofthe launch pit and cut-and-cover sections iswell under way with the launch pit excava-tion scheduled to be completed in earlyOctober 2007. SR-65 underpinning work isalso in progress. The Herrenknecht 23-ftdiameter mixface slurry TBM and separa-tion plant arrived on site mid-August.TBM and separation plant assembly havebegun. Initial mining is expected to start inNovember.

Technopref is assembling its segmentmanufacturing equipment at the AC Millerplant. Segment production will begin in earlyOctober.

Major subcontractors currently working:Nicholson Construction - CDSM and slurrywalls, jet grouting; Brayman Construction -drilled piers, soldier piles and lagging;Moretrench - dewatering.

Personnel: Asao Nomura, ProjectManager, Paul Zick, Project Director;Hiroaki Sugihara, Deputy ProjectManager, John Murray, ConstructionManager; Shu Mino, Project Engineer,Kenji Yamauchi, Tunnel Engineer, DaisukeSone, Mechanical Engineer; Russ Pollard,Chief Field Engineer; Mike Restani, SafetySupervisor; Randy Marnhout, GeneralSuperintendent; William Gyofi, SiteSuperintendent; Vince Kraynak, UtilitySuperintendent; Joe Restelli, ElectricalSuperintendent.

TEXASRound RockRound Rock InterceptorMole/Kassouf/Murray Hill

The joint venture was awarded the con-tract with a low bid of $10,128,830 for the construction of a sewer interceptor tunnel8,340 lf, 8-ft diameter excavated diametertunnel with Hobas 48-in. pipe liner. The pro-ject includes three shafts ranging in depthfrom 50 to 70 ft and the construction of onepump station. The tunnel and shaft excava-tion and lining is complete and constructionof the pump station is well under way.

Subcontractors and Consultants: LachelFelice & Associates, Pacific InternationalGrout Company, Benitez ConstructionCompany.

Personnel: Norman A. Gray, ProjectManager, Mike Clingon, ProjectSuperintendent; Alesia Beck, ProjectEngineer. Information: Rod Shoulder, (440)248-0616.

VIRGINIARichmondBattery Park Emergency Trunk SewerReplacement Sewer ProjectBradshaw Construction Corporation

This $25 million project is an emergency,time-of-the-essence project. A major trunksewer in the Battery Park area of Richmondcollapsed as a result of Tropical Storm Ernestoin August 2006. This project is a replacement ofthe section of sewer that collapsed. Notice toproceed was given in April 2007.

The project consists of 3,400 lf of diggershield excavated ribs and boards tunnel with afinal liner of 110-in. diameter FRRP providedby Future Pipe, a 30-ft diameter main workshaft. The School Street Shaft, 70-ft in depthlocated mid-point of the tunnel which will serveas the excavation for a 60-ft drop structure andconnection to an existing sewer, a diversionstructure at either end of the tunnel where itties into existing sewers, an offset 72-in. dropstructure to be constructed in a 30-ft diameterNATM shaft. The North Connection Shaft, 60-ft in depth over an existing 72-in. RCP sewerwith a 102-in. diameter hand mined liner plateconnecting tunnel in which a 72-in. FRRP willbe installed to tie into a 110-in. FRRP mainline, 200 lf of 60-in. jacked RCP, 1,000 lf of 48-in.jacked RCP, 400 lf of open cut 48-in. RCP, and500 lf of open cut 12-in. RCP. An Akkerman144-in. digger shield was used to excavate thetunnel, an Akkerman 480 TBM was used forthe 48-in. jacked RCP and an Akkerman 600TBM will be used for the 60-in. jacked RCP.

Excavation of the main work shaft, the SchoolStreet Shaft, began in April and took approxi-mately one month to excavate and support. Thedownstream tunnel drive, approximately 1,500 lf,began in June and took one month to complete.The upstream tunnel drive, approximately 1,640lf, began in July and took one month to complete.The North Connection Shaft began in June andwas completed in eight weeks.

Work is in progress on the 110-in. FRRPinstallation, construction of the two diversionstructures, the 72-in. connection at the NorthConnection Shaft, the jacked 60-in. RCP and theopen-cut RCP. The 60-ft drop structure and connection at the School Street Shaft will be thelast construction activity on the project. All workis expected to be completed by Jan. 11, 2008

Area Project Manager: Mark Rybak; GeneralSuperintendent: Frank Jones; GeneralSuperintendent: Bob Welch; Jacked and OpenCut TCP Superintendent: Jack Jones; TunnelSuperintendents: Ray Grossman, Frank Lynch;Project Engineer: Todd Brown; Field Engineer:Matt Exley; TBM Operators: John Kirk, SteveMalm. Information: Mark Rybak, (410) 977-0955.

WASHINGTONSeattleBeacon Hill Tunnel ContractObayashi Corp.

The TBM was re-launched in July on thenorthbound running tunnel and is approxi-mately 600 ft in and making good progresstoward the station. The TBM will hole

through at the station toward the end ofSeptember. The TBM will then be pulledthrough the station and set up for relaunch onthe final running tunnel segment.

The SEM mining work at the station iscomplete as of May 2007. Work continues onwaterproofing, permanent lining concreteand main shaft concrete.

The 1,400 lf of aerial structures work at theEast Portal is substantially complete andwork continues on miscellaneous concreteand steel erection for the Mt. Baker Station.Aerial guideway work on the West Portal isunder way and will be complete in September2007. Plinth operations and rail works on theaerial structure is substantially completewith final portal concrete works ongoing.

Obayashi Job Site Personnel: Masaki Omote,Senior Project Manager; Steve Redmond,Project Manager; Jon Kirk, Business Manager;Richard Boutelle, General Superintendent;Rohit Shetty, SEM Tunneling Manager; NetoJacquez, SEM Tunneling Superintendent;Nestor Garavelli, TBM Project Engineer; BobClucas, Structural Manager; Gregg Olsen,Project Engineer; Billy Hahn, Safety Manager;Leif Nordell, Tunnel Concrete Superintendent;Duke Wilhite, Surface Superintendent; SatoshiAkai, SEM Engineer; Yoshi Sawamoto,Equipment Manager; Tomo Kudo, EPB TunnelEngineer; Mat Matsumoto Structural/BuildingEngineer; Brent Buzzard, Estimator.Information: Jon Kirk (206) 262-0665.

Sound Transit Job Site Personnel: RichardSage, Deputy Construction Manager; RickCapka, Resident Engineer; Zeph Varley,Station Project Engineer; Clement Wiggins,Tunnel Project Engineer; Roger Smith,Resident Engineer Structures.

BothellBrightwater Conveyance Stystem - EastKenny/Shea/Traylor

This is the first of the major projectsscheduled by King County to complete theBrightwater System. The East Contract consists of the following major elements:14,050 ft of 18-ft, 10-in. EPB TBM-mined tunnel using 16-ft, 8-in. ID bolted, gasketedprecast concrete segments for a primary liner;installing and grouting 14,200 ft each of 48-in.,66-in., 27-in., 84-in. diameter pipes inside thetunnel along with three runs of fiber-opticcable; 2,430 ft of 72-in. diameter microtunnel,including three shafts and structures; oneintercepting structure (IS) to mine from that is74 ft deep and 80 ft finished diameter with 130ft deep slurry diaphragm walls, tremie slaband final concrete wall lining; one influentpump station shell (IPS) 83 ft deep, twin 84 ftID cells, with 160 ft deep slurry diaphragmwalls, tremie slab, and final lining; two short 12ft diameter connector tunnels; one extractionshaft 40 ft deep by 40 ft wide and 140 ft long forconnection to new treatment plant piping.

The site utilities and screen/sound wall fencewere completed and the slurry wall constructionfor the IS shaft was completed by BencorCorporation in spite of a six-week setback due to



an operator’s strike against the ready-mix concrete suppliers in KingCounty. Bencor has since completed the binocular twin 84 ft diametershafts and center wall for the IPS shaft using 160 ft deep by 48-in. thickpanels. The IS shaft excavation was completed and the 13 ft thick, 2,600cu yd concrete tremie plug installed. The shaft was concrete lined backto the final diameter with all the portals installed. Northwest Boringassembled the microtunnel equipment for the first drive out and hascompleted the first 850 ft drive. The receiving shaft for the first micro-tunnel drive was completed (80 ft deep caisson) and the second and thirdcaissons have been completed for the remaining drives. The 19 ft, 3 in.diameter Lovat EPB TBM has been delivered to the site and is cur-rently being assembled in the IS shaft. Mining is scheduled to start bythe end of September 2007.

The IPS slurry wall binocular shaft excavation is well under waywith shaft excavation in the wet scheduled to be completed by earlyOctober followed by the pouring of the tremie plug, dewatering andfinal concrete lining.

Personnel: Ted Budd, Tunnel Division Manager; John Kennedy,Project Manager; Jake Taylor, Project Engineer; Luminita Calin,Cost and Schedule Manager; Tony Huphauf, QAQC Manager; MarkSaylor, Division Equipment Manager, Rich Mascarello, GeneralSuperintendent; Dale Wold, Electrical Superintendent; Terry Walls,Warehouse Manager; Mike Sarlitto, Safety Manager; Safety; AustinCooney, Home Office Sponsor. Information: (847) 541-8200 [email protected].

Brightwater - West ContractJay Dee/Coluccio/Taisei JV

The project consists of approximately 21,100 lf of 13 ft diametersegment lined tunnel, constructed with an EPB TBM, 2,500 lf ofwhich has a secondary lining of 10 ft diameter piping, 540 ft of 60-in.microtunneled effluent sewer, one portal structure for launching theEPB TBM and a sampling facility with structural, mechanical, elec-trical, piping, landscaping and instrumentation work. The projectduration is 49 months with completion scheduled for March of 2011.

The JV has almost completely mobilized to the site. Utilities areinstalled including two prep rammed casings beneath the BNSF RR.The site field offices are set up and the JV has moved to these from thetemporary offices in Shoreline. Site grading, drainage and temporaryaccess roads are completed. Several pieces of equipment are mobilizedto the site including a new Manitowoc 14000 crane. The JV is currentlyinstalling steel sheeting and jet grouting for the main shaft. Watertreatment facilities are being completed to treat both process water andstorm water. Shops and temporary buildings are nearly completed.

A 15 ft, 5 in. diameter Lovat EPB TBM is being manufactured forthe tunnel drive and scheduled for delivery in March 2008. The concrete segments will be fabricated by CSI/Hanson JV inTacoma. All 21,100 lf of tunnel will be from the shaft portal at PointWells in Richmond Beach, very close to the shoreline of Puget Sound.Major subcontractors include Delta Technology Corp. for HVAC, J.P.Francis & Assoc. Inc. for plumbing and mechanical, United StatesElectrical Corp. of Washington for both permanent and temporaryelectrical work.

Personnel: Thomas S. DiPonio, Managing Partner for the JV; GregHauser, Project Manager; Tom McMahon, General Superintendent;Glen Frank, Project Engineer; Mina Shinouda, Assistant ProjectEngineer; Hiro Uchida, Tunnel Engineer; Andrew Cook, Health andSafety Officer; Bill Austell, Microtunnel Manager; Renee Halley, OfficeManager. King County: Mann-Ling Thibert, Project Representative.Bob Mues of Jacobs Engineering is the Resident Engineer and MikeCole of EPC Consultants is the Assistant Resident Engineer. Ken Rossiof EPC Consultants is the Chief Inspector and John Giaudrone ofJacobs Associates is the Design Engineer. Information: (206) 542-2865.

Brightwater — Central Contract Vinci/Parsons/FKCI JV

The $210 million contract includes 11,600 lf of 14.33-ft diametertunnel (BT2) and 21,100 lf of 14.33-ft diameter tunnel (BT3), bothsteel fiber reinforced segmentally lined. The tunnel excavation will Reader Service Number 14


utilize two Herrenknecht 17.38 ft mixshieldmachines. The project also includes 3,400 lf of3- to 5-ft interceptor work constructed bymicrotunneling and cut-and-cover methods.

The North Kenmore Shaft has been exca-vated and partially lined. The BT2 machinehas been shipped to the site for assembly andlaunching anticipated for mid-September2007. The BT3 machine has been manufac-tured and has completed its workshop testingin Schwanau, Germany. The unit will arriveon site in November 2007 for assembly andlaunching.

Project Manager: Lionel Suquet; ProjectEngineer: Yvonnick Rescamps; GeneralSuperintendent: Francois DeLille; TunnelSuperintendent: Jim Nickerson; EquipmentSuperintendent: Greg Cook; ElectricalSuperintendent: John Issacs; BusinessManager: Cheryl Sturdefant. Information:Dave Rogstad, (296) 766-8106.

WEST VIRGINIANealCavern No. 2Kiewit Construction Company

The Cavern No. 2 project is a liquid storagecavern consisting of a network of approxi-mately 14,500 lf of 15-ft and 20-ft wide by 27-ft-tall tunnels. The excavation is located inshale about 460 ft below ground. Access isthrough an 8-ft-diameter drilled shaft. Thetunnels will be excavated using drill-and-blastmethods. Ground support consists of patternresin bolts and full wire mesh in the crown.

The 566-ft main shaft and two ventilationshafts are complete. The head frame and1,000 hp shaft hoist have been installed.Break-out mining from the 8-ft-diametershaft is complete. The underground loadingpocket excavation and installation is inprogress. Production mining is expected tostart in late-October.

Project Sponsor: Bob Stier; JobSuperintendent: Matt Swinton; Assistant JobSuperintendent: Jamie Bonner; ProjectEngineer: Ricardo García. Information: (304)453-7030.

WISCONSINMilwaukeeElm Road Generating Plant IntakeKenny Construction

The project is a design-build subcontractfor Bechtel Corp., which is the design/buildcontractor for the $2 billion plant for WEEnergies (Wisconsin Electric) consisting of alake water intake tunnel excavated in rockapproximately 9,200 ft in length, 27 ft, 4 in. indiameter and appurtenant work.

Marine crews have completed the drillingand the installation of the vertical piping inthe four drilled intake shafts. Dredging wascompleted and all of the vertical risers wereconnected to the previously installed risersbelow the lake floor followed by installation ofmanifold piping. This is being followed by theinstallation of the intake screens to completeat least two of the shafts to fill the tunnel late

in 2007 for test water for the new plant.The overburden excavation using a 32 ft ID

caisson method to the rock (80 ft deep) for thefirst of three land-based shafts was completedand the rock drilled and shot to the top of thetunnel and TBM erection chamber. The 200-ftdeep shaft was lined followed by the drillingand shooting of the 30-ft horseshoe erectionchamber. The 27-ft, 4-in. diameter TBM waserected and completed mining in early March.The tunnel was cleaned and the TBM cycledback to the work shaft for disassembly andremoval. Tunnel concrete forms were erectedand the land-based tunnel was poured. The forms are currently being placed under thefurthest riser shaft. The tunnel intersections ofthe four risers will be completed and the formcycled back to the land based shaft for removal.

Personnel: Ted Budd, Tunnel DivisionManager; Paul McDermott, Project Manager;Jon Isaacson, Project Engineer; Tom Plinke,QAQC Manager; Mike Smithson, D/BCoordinator; Mark Saylor, Equipment Manager;Joe Johnson, Electrical Superintendent; TomPeterson, TBM Specialist; Dave Kuepper, SiteEquipment Manager; Chuck Hartman,Warehouse Manager; Rich O’Neil, SurveyManager; Matt Hadaway, Site Safety Manager;Phil Harris, Safety; Austin Cooney, Home OfficeSponsor. Information: (847) 541-8200 [email protected].

MilwaukeeHarbor Siphons ProjectShea/Kenny JV

The project for the MilwaukeeMetropolitan Sewerage District consists ofapproximately 2,100 ft and 2,400 ft of 17 fthorseshoe drill-and-blast tunnel, with two 20-ft drop shafts and one 30-ft riser shaft.

The shafts range from 250 to 300 ft deepwith approximately 190 ft of overburden, whichhas to be frozen into the bedrock by contract.Also, a frozen cofferdam of 80 ft by 250 ft for thevarious pipe connections is included.

The Jones Island shaft has been sunk tothe tunnel invert. Both of the siphon dropshafts and the Scott Barclay Street shaftshave been excavated to invert and the ErieStreet has been excavated almost to invert.The AB and EH tunnels being excavated bydrill-blast methods have been excavated 80percent of their respective drives of 2,100 lfand 2,400 lf.

Personnel: Martin (Dutch) Vliegenthart,Vice President; Carl Christensen, ProjectManager; Bonnie Senkowski, OfficeManager; Jerry Straube, StructureSuperintendent; Darrell Vliegenthart, ShaftSuperintendent. Information: (414) 258-2510.

MilwaukeeNorth 27th Street ISS extensionShea/Kenny JV

Crews are currently performing preexcava-tion grouting of the shafts from the surfaceand drilling and placing freeze pipes aroundthe circumference and starting freeze. Start ofexcavation is anticipated in November 2007.

Project Manager: Dan Martz; ProjectEngineer: Len Postregna; TBM Superintendent:Norm Hutchins; Master Mechanic: KeithWalters; Office Manager: Bonnie Senkowski;Safety: Randy Britton; VP Area Manager: DutchVliegenthart. Information: (414) 258-2510.

CANADA–BRITISH COLUMBIABrackendaleAshlu Creek Hydro ProjectFrontier-Kemper

The Ashlu Creek contract is a design-build-operate-transfer, run-of-the-river hydroelec-tric project. A 30-m long drill-blast startertunnel was excavated under a subcontractby a local contractor.

A Wirth TBM was completely refurbishedin the Evansville shops of Frontier-Kempertogether with an entirely new backup systemand delivered to the site and assembled inMarch 2007. Excavation commenced in Mayand is expected to be complete in the springof 2008.

Personnel: Serge Moalli, Project Manager;Roger Blankenship, General Superintendent;Jonathan Prenger, Project Engineer;Richard Olason, Business Manager.Information: Dave Rogstad, (812) 426-2741.

VancouverSeymour-Capilano Filtration ProjectBilfinger Berger

The first TBM, the “Seymour TBM,”commenced Phase 1 in the Raw WaterTunnel on June 1 and stopped after 136 m atstation 0+196m from the Seymour Shaft fora scheduled stand down in late July to allowinstallation to commence of the secondTBM, the “Capilano TBM,” in the TreatedWater Tunnel

Between March and August 2007 allgearboxes on both TBMs have needed to beremoved, refurbished and replaced. Bothmachines are up and running now.

TBM #1 Raw Water Tunnel — The RawWater Tunnel excavation has now reached2,520 m with average daily advance ratesbetween 14 and 24 m per day. Ground condi-tions have varied within the expected values.

TBM #2 Treated Water Tunnel — TheTreated Water Tunnel has now advanced 2,350m. Ground conditions have varied within theexpected values.

Ground support includes extended distancesof no bolting, interspersed with shorter areasof bolts and mesh and shorter areas of boltsmesh and shotcrete. Currently there are nosteel sets installed in the tunnels.

Personnel: GVRD — Tom Morrison, SeniorProject Engineer Tunnels; Doug Neden,Manager Water Treatment Engineering;Goran Oljaca, Senior Engineer. PLA - AndySaltis, Area Manager Tunnels; Jeff Spruston,PM for SCFP; Brian Gardner, ProjectDirector & VP Project Services. HMM —Dean Brox, RE; Joe Rotzien, ARE. Geology— Golder (as sub to HMM), Grant Bonin.BBC — Christian Genschel, PM; JosephMessner, CM. Information: (604) 982-3197.




Business Cards





ClassifiedsANNOUNCEMENT

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION (WSSC) CONSTRUCTION OF THE BI-COUNTY WATER TUNNEL PROJECT MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) located in Laurel, Maryland, plans to release a solicitation in late 2007 or early2008 for qualified tunneling contractors on the Bi-County Water Tunnel Project. The project will consist of approximately 5.3 miles of hardrock tunnel, 100 to 300 feet underground and lined with 84-inch diameter welded steel pipe. The tunnel is expected to be excavated by atunnel boring machine (TBM) and the annular space between the tunnel and carrier pipe will be filled with grout.

In addition, this project will be advertised with a mandatory provision for Small Local Business Enterprise participation for approved small local businesses. We willalso encourage 20 percent certified minority business participation. Please visit WSSC’s website for upcoming Outreach event regarding this project. For information onWSSC’s Small Local Business Enterprise Program, visit WSSC’s web site at www.wsscwater.com/Business/SLMBE.

If your firm is interested in participating in this project, please contact Acquisition at 301-206-8288 and request information on registering for this project. It should benoted that at this time there is no pre-qualification requirement for this project. Qualification requirements will be included in the contract documents.

Details on this project and projected scheduled is available on the WSSC Web Page at www.wsscwater.com and click on the bi-county water tunnel logo.WSSC is the 8th largest water and wastewater utility in the nation, serving nearly 1.8 million customers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. We operate and

maintain seven water and wastewater plants, over 5,400 miles of fresh water pipelines and over 5,300 miles of sewer pipelines. In our 89-year history, our drinking waterhas always met or exceeded federal standards.

FOR CONTINUOUS UPDATES, PLEASE VISIT WSSC’s WEB SITE. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Thomas LaboonAcquisition Director

PROJECT MECHANICAL ENGINEERA major underground equipment supplier is looking for a degreed mechanical engineer with two to three years mechanical design experience. This is growth oppor-tunity to develop from mechanical design to project management and management. The company is a division of an international company with projects worldwide.This position would focus primarily on projects within the U.S. but may require some short term travel to Europe. Should be well acquainted with the latest releaseof AutoCAD and SolidWorks. Position is in the Pacific Northwest. References required. Contact [email protected]. Reference Job #1007.


ProductsMonitoring

With the Leica GMX902 GG, Leica Geosystems continuesits commitment to developing accurate and reliable GNSSmonitoring solutions. The Leica GMX902 GG is a high-perfor-mance GPS + GLONASS receiver, specially developed tomonitor sensitive structures such as bridges, mines or highrise buildings and crucial topographies such as land slides orvolcanoes. It provides precise dual frequency code and phasedata up to 20 Hz, enabling precise data capture as the basis forhighly accurate position calculation and motion analysis.

As with the other receivers in the GMX900 family, theGMX902 GG has been designed and built purely for monitoring applications. The key characteristics of theGMX900 family are low power consumption, high qualitymeasurement, simplicity and durability. The Leica GMX902GG is an ideal receiver for deformation monitoring withsuperior tracking of satellites from the both GPS andGLONASS constellations. The GMX902 GG is also a perfectreceiver for atmospheric studies and ionospheric scintillationresearch with 20Hz measurement of high precision dual-frequency code, phase and signal-to-noise ratio.

“Our development teams have taken our suggestions fromyears of monitoring applications all over the world andimplemented those requests into the GMX902. This sensor

has the same accuracy as the rest of the family of products, costs less, and uses half the power, which is exactly what themarket needed.”Gerard Manley,vice presidentE n g i n e e r e dSolutions, LeicaGeosystems Inc.,continues, “Thisallows us to deployunits in some of the world’s mostdemanding loca-tions and confi-dently operate onbattery and solaroperation for many years. The GMX902 will change the wayGPS monitoring is used by the engineering community.”

The Leica GMX902 GG integrates seamlessly with asuite of Leica Geosystems software for advanced dataanalysis and processing, data archiving, high speed andhigh accuracy displacement calculation, limit checks andmessaging in combination with other sensor families.

Construction GroutSakrete, North America’s original dry cement mix brand, has

developed a Non-Shrink Construction Grout to add to their listof “just add water” products. The grout is non-metallic struc-tural hydraulic cement, specially formulated for high-strengthgrouting. Sakrete’s Non-Shrink Construction Grout is used forgrouting of concrete that has been poured, precast, tilted-up andprestressed. It is also used for grouting heavy machinery, soleplates, anchor bolts, steel bearing plates, reinforcing steel inblock cells and dowel rods.

The non-shrink grout has three different consistencies toensure easy usage in any project, and is pumpable for easyplacement. It is noncorrosive and will not attack reinforcementsused in applications. It meets the federal specifications ASTMC 1107 and CRD-C 621, while being super-plasticized forimproved strength.

Sakrete was founded in 1936 and is the original dry

cement mix brand in North America. The Sakrete brand isowned and managed by Oldcastle APG/Bonsal American,Inc. Bonsal American is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.For more information on Sakrete, call 1-800-738-1621 orvisit the company’s Web site at www.sakrete.com.

Load Moment IndicatorsHirschmann Automation and Control has introduced

the iVISOR mentor QVGA load moment indicator (LMI) formobile cranes. The iVISOR mentor QGVA provides the operator with a graphic display of the crane and the current

load and geometricinformation, includingthe actual and allow-able load, boomlength, boom angle,and load radius. Thedisplay also includesan integrated bargraph, which providesthe operator with

information on the cranes utilization. The graphic display has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and includes BestVIEWtechnology which automatically adjusts the contrast depend-ing on the temperature and lighting conditions.

The systems central processing unit and operators consoleare integrated into one compact unit making for quick and easyinstallation. In addition to the freely programmable controlfunctionality, two CANopen interfaces enable networking withother controls and displays. The LMI system can be used as aCANopen master or as a CANopen slave. It can also commu-nicate with other CAN Bus capable devices via the CAN Businterfaces which support the CANopen protocol and J1939.

The iVISOR mentor QGVA also provides the flexibility ofoptional Working Area Definition (WADS), event recorder,and the use of wireless sensors.


October 200711-13 32nd Annual Conference on Deep Foundations,

Washington, D.C., Deep Foundations InstitutePh: (973) 423-4030; Fax: (973) 423-4031

16-19 ICUEE 2007, Louisville, Ky, Ph: (800) 867-6060; Fax: (414) 272-2672; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.icuee.com

25 Passive Fire Protection of Underground Concrete Structures,New York City Ph: (800) 763-3132; Fax: (303) 973-3845; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.smenet.org

November 200727-29 STUVA Conference ‘07, Cologne, Germany,

Ph: +49 (0)2 21 59 79 50; Fax: +49 (0)2 21 5 97 95-50E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.stuva.de

27-29 INTERtunnel 2007, Moscow, Russia, Ph: +44 (0) 1273 300 434; Fax: +44 (0) 1273 300 986E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.intertunnelrussia.com

16-19 ICUEE 2007, Louisville, Ky, Ph: (800) 867-6060; Fax: (414) 272-2672; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.icuee.com

25 Passive Fire Protection of Underground Concrete Structures, New York City Ph: (800) 763-3132; Fax: (303) 973-3845; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.smenet.org

March 200811-15 CONEXPO-CON/AGG, Las Vegas,

Ph: (800) 867-6060; Web: www.conexpoconagg.com

June 20087-11 2008 North American Tunneling, San Francisco

Ph: (800) 763-3132; Fax: (303) 973-3845;E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.smenet.org

September 200822-27 ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2008,

Delhi, India, ITA, Ph: +91-11-2615984/26116567; Fax: +91-11-26116347E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.wtc2008.org

May 200923-28 World Tunnel Congress & 35th ITA General Assembly

“Safe tunnelling for the City and Environment,”Budapest, HungaryPh: +36 1 214 7701; Fax: +36 1 201 2680; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.wtc2009.org

June 200914-17 2009 RETC, Las Vegas

Ph: (800) 763-3132; Fax: (303) 973-3845; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.retc.org

Ad Index

Advertiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page . . .RS #

Akkerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 . . . . . .7

Allentown Shotcrete Technology, Inc. . . . .44 . . . . .16

Alpine Sales & Equipment Corp. . . . . . . .25 . . . . . .9

Antraquip Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 . . . . .10

ASFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 . . . . .11

Brierley Associates LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . .5

Colorado School of Mines . . . . . . . . . . . .5 . . . . .17

DIEMEDIAFABRIK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 . . . . .14

Herrenknecht Tunnelling Systems USA Inc. .2 . . . . . .1

Icon Equipment Distributors, Inc. . . . . . . .11 . . . . . .4

Advertiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page . . .RS #

Jacobs Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 . . . . .13

Jordan Jones & Goulding . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . .2

Moretrench American Corporation . . . . . .15 . . . . . .6

No-Dig Sewers Without a Trench . . . . . . .39 . . . . .50

Sekisui SPR Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 . . . . .51

Shaft Drillers International . . . . . . . . . . .39 . . . . .52

Shimahara Illustration . . . . . . . . . . .33, 39 . .12, 53

The Robbins Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 . . . . . .3

URS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . .8

Wholesale Mine Supply, LLC . . . . . . . . . .43 . . . . .15

Events Calendar


Over the last decade, virtually all companies and organizations associatedwith the tunneling industry have expe-rienced a scarcity of newly educated engineers interested in a profession n tunneling. It has become blatantlyobvious to most of us that an insufficientnumber of students are either electingto go into engineering, or are complet-ing their education in engineering.Consequently contractors, designers,suppliers and owners are all competingfor the same few graduating engineers.This has become even more critical as 1)tunnel design and construction continueto involve more sophisticated technolo-gies requiring a state-of-the-art educa-tion, and 2) much of our baby-boomerengineering work force approachesretirement age.

The tunneling industry as a whole issuffering from this lack of new blood.The aging of our industry is particularlynoticeable when we get together at amajor tunneling conference and theaverage age is in the 50s with only asmattering of younger attendees in their 20s and 30s. Consequently, wemust as an industry, as companies andas individuals seek to remedy thisscarcity of young engineers if we are tosurvive as a viable and competitiveindustry

In part, the scarcity of entry levelengineers stems from a decrease in thenumber of colleges and universities thatteach various aspects of tunneling andmining. In just the last 20 years, thenumber of tunnel and mining orientedcurriculums has decreased from morethan 30 colleges and universities in theUnited States to fewer than a dozenschools with even a portion of their cur-riculum directed at tunneling processesand related ground behavior.

Maybe today’s students don’t con-sider tunneling to be as exciting orprofitable as developing computercodes for the next Halo-like computergame. Or possibly the decrease in thenumber of tunneling related courses is due in part to a perception by schooladministrators that the tunnelingindustry has become a mature industrythat is not in need of substantial num-bers of new engineers. Possibly it isalso because many of the professorsthat directed research and taught

tunneling related courses are retiring.Or possibly it is because funding fromfederal agencies for projects andresearch is virtually non-existent compared to the relatively robustresearch funding that took place in the1960s and ’70s. More than likely, thepainful drop in the number of graduat-ing engineers is due to a combination ofthese factors, as well as a few others.

Consequently we, as an industry,and as individuals need to reverse thisdebilitating downward trend in thenumber of new engineers entering ourfield. To attract students to engineer-ing we need to spark their interest andthe interest of their instructors in ourprofession, and we need to competewith other industries by providingsome level of financial support forresearch, scholarships, awards, andsummer internships.

Individually we can all provideinformation to beginning science and engineering students and theirinstructors via technical presentationsin campus classes and symposia, and even filling part-time teachingpositions. Engineering departments atmost schools have lunch time or afterschool symposia or forums for presen-tations on underground projects, construction methods, constructionmanagement, etc. Many schools arecutting the size of their engineeringdepartments and have limited budgetsfor replacing retiring professors.Consequently, many schools are opento proposals by individuals, profes-sional societies, and companies toassist in teaching a class on particulartechnical subject.

In recognition of the dwindling numbers of new engineers enteringour industry, the executive committeefor the Rapid Excavation andTunneling Conference (RETC) imple-mented an attendance scholarshipfund in 2003. The scholarship wasestablished to promote awareness inundergraduate college engineeringstudents of the challenges andrewards that are available in tunnel-ing. The scholarships are awarded on acompetitive basis to undergraduateapplicants to fully fund their traveland attendance expense for participat-ing in an RETC.

The initial scholarship fund was spon-sored by donations from members of theexecutive committee for the 2003 RETCheld in New Orleans, a total of sevenstudents applied and were acceptedfrom several universities. Subsequently,the executive committee elected toincrease the conference registration feeby $25 for each paid attendee to helpperpetuate the scholarship fund for successive RETCs. By the 2007 RETC,there were 16 applicants from nineschools expressing an interest in attend-ing the conference to learn more abouttunneling. The executive committeeaccepted nine of the applicants for afully paid conference attendance wherethey could network with other partici-pants, marvel at the wide range of tech-nologies presented in the exhibition hall,and develop a greater understanding ofthe opportunities and requirements fora rewarding career in tunneling. A sidebenefit of student scholarships has beenthat students have returned to theirschools and enthusiastically encouragedtheir classmates to apply for RETCscholarships for the next RETC.

So, if we are to keep our tunnelingindustry growing, we all need to step upto the bar and provide whatever timeand monetary assistance that we arecapable of providing to the studentspassing through our university system.RETC and other groups have taken astep forward in recognizing the hugeneed for monetary support, and a fewcompanies have sponsored scholarshipsat various universities. However, it willtake a great deal more volunteer timeand money to expand the number ofgraduating engineering students backto the levels of the 1960s and ’70s.

More company sponsored scholar-ships, research grants, summer intern-ships, and even co-sponsored teachingpositions are needed. And more time is needed from industry professionalsto share their experience, “lessonslearned” and enthusiasm with entrylevel though graduate level engineer-ing students.

Robert “Red” Robinson is a Senior VicePresident at Shannon & Wilson Inc., and isa member of the Executive Committee for the Rapid Excavation and TunnelingConference.

My TurnDrastic Actions Needed to Attract New Talent to Tunneling By Robert “Red” Robinson

