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By I A. Lamb

The Melbourne City Link Project has two tunnels, the Domain and Burnley Tunnels, which have been constructed by Transfield Obayashi Joint Venture (TOJV) under a design and construct contract. The two tunnels are located essentially under the Kings Domain, the Yarra River and, in the case of the longer Burnley Tunnel, under the inner suburb of Richmond. The Burnley Tunnel is 3.5 km long and reaches a depth of 65 m at the central Swan Street Shaft, the invert being at RL -60 m. The Domain Tunnel is 1.6 km long, with the invert reaching RL -20. The tunnels were driven, for the most part, in the siltstone and sandstone of the Silurian Age Melbourne Formation. Construction aspects of the driven tunnels as related to the engineering geology have been described by Hutchison et al (1998). The Silurian bedrock is a fractured rock aquifer that is connected to overlying alluvial aquifers. Excavation of the tunnels allowed temporary groundwater inflows which substantially de-pressurised portions of the various aquifers. This de-pressurisation provided the potential to accelerate on-going secondary consolidation rates of the Holocene Aged Coode Island Silt (CIS) and the older Quaternary Fishermens Bend Silt (FBS) deposits, in areas where these materials directly overly the aquifers. As a large portion of the urban area of South Melbourne and the old river course of the Yarra River contain extensive CIS deposits, and were within the drawdown influence of the tunnels, the management of the hydrogeological regime was very important. The permanent design of the tunnels comprised drained and undrained sections (a partially tanked design) which, along with some permanent recharge, provide long-term protection against the possibility of accelerated settlement rates. During construction TOJV implemented a comprehensive groundwater management plan to deal with issues related to the temporary drawdown of the aquifers and the temporary acceleration of settlement. This paper describes the hydrogeological regime, the effects of the tunnelling, the monitoring programs, the extensive temporary recharge system, and the consultation program that TOJV utilised to manage the hydrogeological issues.

Jan 1, 1999

By Jim Slatter, Ben Collingwood

"It is well known that the adoption of an appropriate construction methodology is critical to quality outcomes for bored piles (drilled shafts). Many case studies have been published documenting quality issues that have arisen due to a range of causes involving ground conditions, ground support, drilling and cleaning techniques, groundwater, concrete properties and concreting methods, amongst other things. Despite the body of published information, pile defects remain common in practice. The authors share over 40 years’ experience in the Australian piling industry and have participated in many hundreds of projects involving bored piles in design, construction and testing roles. It is the authors’ experience that many defects are caused by conditions or practices that are known to be problematic, but that are often not recognised or addressed at the time of the works. This paper provides an overview of industry practices and key factors relevant to quality outcomes. The authors draw upon their own construction experience, published case studies and guidelines, and observations from independent pile testing activities they have been involved in across the Australian piling industry. The intent of the paper is to provide a consolidated review of typical industry practices and to highlight key areas in which construction quality can be enhanced.INTRODUCTIONThere are many published studies of cases where bored piles have been constructed and found to have concrete defects. The authors have had personal involvement in many cases where the outcomes and learnings are not publically available. The nature and cause of defects is always dependent on site and project specific factors, and therefore methodologies and materials that produce satisfactory outcomes in certain circumstances may be problematic elsewhere. The process of bored pile construction encompasses the following key areas:??excavation and ground support;??pile preparation and cleaning;??pile reinforcement and fitments.??concrete supply and mix performance;??concrete placement methodology;Each of these elements is equally important and can influence construction quality in completed piles. In the authors’ experience, it is often a combination of seemingly minor issues that leads to significant defects in piles. Conversely, attention to detail in all aspects of bored pile construction is required to produce outcomes of a consistently high standard."

Jan 1, 1900

Projects to be undertaken in remote locations require special attention with regard to constructability from the very first stages of design. This is to ensure not only that the project is compatible with the environment in which it' is proposed to be built, but that it does not require facilities or special construction equipment and expertise that is not available in the proposed location. This paper draws on experiences gained on projects in Alaska, Northern Canada, South East Asia, outback Australia, and more recently Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, where over the past 5 years Minenco has undertaken in excess of A$120 million of work on a number of different projects for Bougainville Copper Limited Although many of these projects have been close to large populous cities, which have been served by regular shipping and airline services, the locations have not had the availability of construction facilities which exist in major cities of Australia and thus can only be considered as remote locations by current day standards. As a result, every nut bolt and washer has had to be brought to the job site by the construction company. No hardware or electrical warehouses existed for those forgotten half dozen high tensile bolts, spring

Jan 1, 1986

By F. E. ROGERS

CUSHMAN TUNNEL No. 2 is adjacent to the Hood Canal, near potlatch, Wash. It is 17 ft. inside .diameter, about 13,000 ft., or two and one- half, miles in length, and is a part of the second unit of the Cushman power project. It connects Cushman ' Dam No. 2 and the penstocks that lead to the power house on the beach about 400 ft. vertically below the outlet of the tunnel. One shaft, 190 ft. deep, and two adits between 300 and 400 ft. long, were provided to speed up driving operations. his arrangement gave 6 working headings, which were operated 24 hr. daily. The shaft provided a manway, cageway, and skipway.

Jan 1, 1931

By Thomas G. Tavernaro, Jeffrey A. Schaefer

"The $106 million Olmsted Approach Walls Project, completed in the spring of 2004 by Massman Construction Co., Kansas City, MO, is one phase of a new $1.4 billion Corps of Engineers locks and dam facility located at Mile 964 on the Ohio River, approximately 17 miles (27.4 km) upstream of its mouth at the Mississippi River. When completed, the Olmsted Locks and Dam (Figure 1) facility will replace two aging locks and dams (Locks and Dams 52 & 53) built in the 1920’s, and produce an estimated $600 million annual economic benefit to the nation through reduced lockage time and operation and maintenance costs. PROJECT OVERVIEWThe Olmsted Approach Walls Project consisted of “in-the- wet” construction of four fixed nose pier structures, four floating concrete approach walls, one fixed wall and related underwater excavation, grading and stone placement. Over 12,000 tons (11,000 tonnes) of structural steel and pre-cast concrete elements, up to 335 tons (304 tonnes) in weight, were safely erected during the project.To support these massive structures, the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teamed with INCA Engineers, Inc., Bellevue, WA to design thirty seven 10’ (3m) diameter shafts (cast-in-place steel-shell piles) capable of maintaining elastic behavior below ground while resisting barge impact loads, extreme head-on collisions from runaway tows, and environmental forces from river current, wind, and seismic events.The shafts (typically 150’ (45.7m) in length) were founded 100’ (30m) into the riverbed through alluvium, a very consolidated fine sand and clay Cretaceous soil, and finally into a hydrothermally altered rock. Thirty seven shafts were installed under open river conditions at the site, a group of four shafts at each nose pier-pylon location (Figure 2), and 21 at the fixed land wall. Due to difficulty in achieving the required casing tip elevation the team developed a design modification that was successfully implemented for 27 of the shafts.Concurrent with the work at Olmsted, eleven pontoon segments for the four floating approach walls were constructed at a graving yard in Paducah, KY, developed by Massman Construction Company specifically for the project. While the pontoon geometry varied, the pontoons averaged 350’ (107m) in length, 40’ (12.2m) in width and weighed 4,500 tons (4,082 tonnes). The longest of the four walls, at 1,700’ (518m) was comprised of five interconnected pontoons."

Jan 1, 2006

By David Coleman

This paper presents a case history involving the installation of drilled in piles with rock sockets for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Path project located west of the Henry Hudson Parkway within the Riverside Park between 83rd Street and 91st Street at the Hudson River in New York, NY. The paper specifically addresses access and construction procedures for a marine installation when working in an urban and environmentally sensitive setting.

By H. Boghosian

This paper presents the design and construction of a deep basement in a steeply sloping site in glacial till in Glasgow city centre. Existing foundations, adjacent structures and services, in tandem with asymmetric loading, presented particular challenges in the planning, execution and design of the project. The construction methods and temporary works, analysis by the Finite Element method and monitoring carried out are all described.

Jan 1, 2006

By Louay Owaidat, Daniel Jabbour, Allan Frappier, Jose Gomez, Mark Stanley, Tino Maestas

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is implementing a levee strengthening program along the Sacramento River East Levee (SREL) designed to correct 11 miles of deficient levees as identified by recent hydraulic and geotechnical investigations. The first project, the subject of this paper, completed in 2020 resulted in approximately 3.0 miles of improvements to the California Central Valley Flood Protection system. The project area lies along the east bank of the Sacramento River in Sacramento. The program consists of constructing cutoff walls through existing levee embankments to remediate levee through seepage and under-seepage. Key challenges included designing and constructing measures to remediate a 100-year-old legacy levee system, the presence of both industrial and residential properties immediately adjacent to the landside of the levee creating severe space and access limitations, and performing this work during the 2020 statewide mandate to shelter-in-place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project team of contractors, USACE, state and local agencies, and engineering firms partnered to bring this project to successful completion within budget and on schedule expending more than 60,000 man-hours with no lost time accidents. With the issuance of future planned contracts, the program will significantly reduce flood risk to the City of Sacramento.

Sep 8, 2021

By P. M. Wiltcher

The construction of a deep structural slurry wall in a restricted city centre location is always a challenging prospect. However, when the city is London and the site is bounded on two sides by high level canals and a main traffic highway on the third, the challenges are greater than usual. The paper discusses the design considerations required by the principal contractor to accommodate a single high level lateral support, value-engineered, bottom-up construction technique and the impact this had on the design detailing and construction of the slurry wall panels. This paper discusses the logistical challenges successfully overcome during the construction of 65,000sq ft of 40inch thick, 80ft deep structural slurry wall in the City of London. The paper reviews the benefits gained from using the state-of-the-art hydraulic grab and rotator system. Technological advances in computer instrumentation and real time monitoring were utilised to assist the grab operators in consistently delivering deviational control during excavation better than 1:200. With working space always at a premium on construction sites, the need for high quality, pre-fabricated reinforcement cages has never been greater. This paper reviews the argument for off-site fabrication of reinforcement members.

Jan 1, 2006

By Keith MacKay, John Carter, David Siddle, Fernando Faminia

"The River Green Residential development, is located in the municipality of Richmond, BC adjacent to the Fraser River. Ground conditions at the site consisted of medium to fine grained alluvial sands and a high groundwater elevation. A temporary low permeability retaining wall was required in order to facilitate the construction of an underground parking structure without inducing settlement of adjacent structures, which include the Richmond Olympic Oval; part of the legacy of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Golder Associates Ltd. and GeoPacific Consultants Ltd. utilized Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM) technology to enable construction of a continuous combined low permeability cut-off and retaining wall around the perimeter of the property. The 350m long wall was keyed into marine clay at a depth of 28m below ground surface, and contained H-Pile reinforcement installed at regular intervals. The CSM technology provided many benefits for this project, allowing the combined cut-off and retaining wall to be constructed within a very narrow footprint (650mm width). The low noise impact and near vibration free construction of the CSM equipment provided minimal inconvenience to nearby stakeholders during construction. To reduce dewatering volumes during excavation and prevent significant water-table drawdown the Hydraulic Conductivity requirements for the wall were 1 x 10-7 cm/s or less. Project specifications called for a different strength requirement for upper and lower portions of the wall. The top 13 meters of the wall required an Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of 4MPa to act as a retaining and cut-off wall, whereas the bottom 15 meters of the wall required a UCS of only 0.5 MPa to act only as a cut-off wall. Wet-grab and core samples were obtained from the panels to confirm the UCS and Hydraulic Conductivity specifications were met.INTRODUCTIONGolder Construction Inc. and GeoPacific Consultants Ltd. conducted the design and construction of a deep soil mixed cut-off and retaining wall system. The “dry-box” solution was used to surround the excavation of an underground parkade and prevent flows of groundwater into the excavation."

Jan 1, 2016

By Orlando Rojas, Javier Pizarro, Romke Kuyvenhoven, Francisco Soto

"The concept of geometallurgy has been extensively mentioned and used in the mining industry in the past years. However, each mining firm has a different understanding of what geometallurgy means, and its actual value varies significantly from site to site. Even in the case of properly constructed geometallurgical models, it is fairly common to observe a sub-utilization of the model in the actual operation, because of its low production forecasting capability on the short term. This disconnect between the geometallurgical model and operations is typically caused by a lack of tuning between the original model and the actual plant operation. Also, the absence of procedures and other standards for reconciliation, affects the confidence and the predictive quality of the model. The geometallurgical model should consist of three different levels: (I) adequate capture of information, (II) data analysis and modelling, and (III) development of the block model. Once the geometallurgical in-situ model is finalized, a process model should be developed of the plant at industrial scale, in order to scale up the in-situ geometallurgical parameters from their base or standard condition, to the actual operating reality of the plant. Finally, the stage of reconciliation will close this process, assuring that any deviation between the geometallurgical model and the actual plant operation is not due to lack of tuning, but due to operational issues such as unattended maintenance requirements or poor process control in the operation. The methodology as described in this paper has been applied at several large mining sites in Chile. The paper presents the characteristics of the proposed methodology, and quantitatively describes its benefits with examples from actual operations.INTRODUCTIONIt probably is fair to say that geometallurgy became widely used in greenfield projects in the Andes region during the mining boom of the 90’s, when massive orebodies were studied and developed, and upfront metallurgical characterisation proved its use for accurate economic evaluation including estimates of plant throughput, energy consumption, final product quality and overall recovery. A few examples of such greenfield studies for concentrator plants in the 90’s are Minera Los Pelambres (Antofagasta Minerals, Chile), Minera Escondida, Laguna Seca (BHP Billiton, Chile), and Rio Blanco (then Montterrico Metals, Peru). Large size hydrometallurgical operations such as Cerro Colorado, Quebrada Blanca and Lomas Bayas (all in Chile), also recognised early on the importance and value of relating ore mineralogy, geological characterisation and metallurgical behaviour."

Jan 1, 2016

By James Coull, Brian Wilson, David Siddle

"In 2012, Golder Construction Inc. was awarded a Design-Build contract for the design and construction of an extensive, deep ground improvement scheme to support up to 20 metres (66 ft) high Mechanically Stabilized Earth walls and bulk earthworks required for the development of the proposed Kitimat Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility at Bish Cove, British Columbia (BC). Utilizing Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM) to construct barrettes consisting of overlapping rectangular panels of in-situ cement-treated soils, a deep mixing scheme, covering an area of approximately 12,900 m2 (15,430 yd2) and comprising some 1645 CSM panels to depths of up to 30.7 m (101 ft), was developed to provide the required static and seismic stability for the LNG structures, and meet the project-specific performance criteria.CSM panels were constructed through varying thicknesses and discontinuous layers of fine-grained, very soft to soft marine deposits, and loose to compact sands, with occasional interbeds of dense sands and gravels. Panel completion criteria was based on soil response factors, as measured by the CSM equipment, with the design requiring a typical embedment of about 2 m (7 ft) into dense silty sand to sand and gravel to provide the required bearing. A total volume of approximately 73,900 m3 (96,660 yd3) of soil was treated with cement to consistently yield average unconfined compressive strengths exceeding 2.5 MPa (363 psi).This paper outlines the challenges associated with the construction and quality control of this large deep mixing scheme in highly variable geotechnical conditions at a remote location with barge-only access, and limited communication facilities. Specifically the paper will discuss the logistical challenges faced and solutions adopted for the project; equipment redundancy requirements for a 24/7 operation; the impacts of wear and tear, as well as variability in subsurface conditions on productivity; quality control processes adopted for the project, including the value of provision of an on-site laboratory; and materials handling issues, and their impacts on mix design and quality control."

Jan 1, 2017

By Bhaskar B. Thapa, Christopher Laughton, Michael P. Bruen

At Fermilab, located in Batavia, Illinois, a 4,000-foot underground complex of tunnels and caverns is being excavated on a decline of six percent, at depths of up to350 ft, below grade. The site geology consists of dolomitic and shale formations overlain by glacial till. Since the start of construction in March 2000, work to date has concentrated on the excavation and support of the Target Hall cavern, which is characterized by a low rock cover and a final lining of shotcrete. Ground vibrations, noise levels, and rock movement were monitored during excavation by drill and blast methods to prevent damage to experimental facilities, impacts on surrounding communities, and to allow evaluation of cavern performance. The cavern design was based on a UDEC numerical analysis that was validated during construction by comparison to encountered conditions and measured cavern movements.

Jan 1, 2001

By Denis Huber

The technical assessment of the final works on the "Stéphany Palace" project at Menton in France's Alpes-Maritimes region shows the importance of daily project monitoring based on the observation method recommended by the European standard Eurocode 7 which applies to Foundations and Geotechnical Engineering. Excavation operations to a depth of 10 m near the France-Italy railway track and adjacent buildings required precise observation of land deformations, regular piezometric monitoring as well as special design arrangements. Temporary active tie-rods were thus placed in phases in order to control deformations in the retaining structures resulting from excavation operations. The Menton region, terminating the Alpine arc of mountains, naturally required the consideration of seismic forces in phase in the lower floors of the building, directly linked to the buried walls. These calculations were carried out in accordance with the PS69/92 rules, calling for an increase in dynamic thrust under the effect of gravity field rotation.

Jan 1, 2002

By Francis B. Gularte

The Dalles Dam is located 192 miles upstream from the Columbia River?s mouth. As part of an effort to increase survival rates for young salmon migrating downstream to the Pacific Ocean, a river spillwall was constructed to guide the young salmon into the thalway and out of the reach of predators. The spillwall consisted of 43 large precast concrete cells constructed onsite. The 120-ton cells are positioned on the bedrock riverbed to form the 830-foot-long spillwall. Large capacity post-tensioned strand anchors extend through ducts in the precast units, anchoring the wall to the basalt. One hundred seventy-eight tie-down anchors consisting of 30, 32, or 40 strands were installed and post-tensioned to secure the cells. The logistic and technical challenges presented by positioning, installing, and stressing the precast cells in the tailrace of a large dam required a high level of cooperation and planning between the owner, general contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers in order to finish the project within the allotted in-water work windows to minimize impacts on seasonal salmon migration.

Jan 1, 2010

By Brian Wilson, Megan Atkinson, Richard Diggle, Nathan Sweeney

"Ruskin Dam, located near Mission, British Columbia, was constructed in 1929 and 1930 and comprises of a concrete gravity dam structure founded on bedrock. At the right abutment, which consists mostly of dense to very dense sands and silt, the dam abuts against overburden soils, and connects to a cutoff wall system consisting of sloping concrete slabs. Significant seepage and piping issues were encountered during first filling of the reservoir in 1930. In 2012, BC Hydro, the owner of the dam, awarded a contract for the construction of seepage control measures at the right abutment, including construction of a plastic concrete cut-off wall extending upstream of the dam, a plastic concrete seepage training wall extending downstream of the dam, tie-in of the new cutoff wall to the dam, consisting of jet grouting of the soils adjacent to the dam to allow for the construction of the special cutoff connecting the cutoff wall to the dam, and construction of additional jet-grouting ground improvement downstream of the dam.Integral to the upgrade was the requirement for the special tie-in cutoff wall, consisting of a highly flexible, impermeable membrane to connect the concrete dam to the new, 1 m thick plastic concrete cutoff wall. The tie-in extends vertically into bedrock through the dam and jet grout columns constructed adjacent and beneath the overhanging portion of the dam at the right abutment. The membrane is required to survive the anticipated earthquake induced deformation between the dam and the abutment soils.This paper describes the processes used to develop a material suitable to meet the specified flexibility and permeability criteria, as well as the innovative construction techniques utilized to construct the slot and place the bituminous material within it. The final dimensions of the slot were in the order of 7 m long by 25 m deep by 0.17 m wide. The bituminous material was placed under a head of water which was required to maintain stability of the slot, and was placed at temperatures in excess of 120 degrees Celsius."

Jan 1, 2017

By N Wharmby

In recent years in New Zealand there have been a number of tunnelling and deep directionally drilled pipelines projects that have required access shafts. Often these shafts are in urban environmentswhere vibration and high noise levels are not tolerable. There are a number of methodologies that can be adopted dependent upon the shaft plan area, depth and geology.This paper will describe some different methodologies that can be adopted that use piling methods such as large diameter piles, and secant piles. The paper will use case studies to highlight:· construction methodology,· specific methodology issues and constraints,· lessons learnt, and· recommended specifications.The development of piling technologies in New Zealand has enabled the development of cost effective solutions for the construction of deep shafts in sensitive urban environments.

Mar 8, 2011

By Francesco Chiappalone, Marco Invernizzi, Franco Gasperin, Brad Yoder, Fabrizio Fara

The Ship Canal Water Quality Project includes a 2.7-mile, 18-ft and 10-in internal-diameter tunnel that extends from Ballard to Wallingford, two popular neighborhoods in the West of Seattle. During the TBM Main drive a 12' × 12' boulder with variable strength up to 47,000psi was encountered resulting on signicant damages to the Cutter ead. The rst part of this paper describes the design and construction of an underground recess in front of the TBM to create a safe working environment for the TBM repairs. The second part describes an injection campaign performed to seal an unforeseen water inow appeared during the excavation of the 11 Avenue Diversion Structure.

Jun 23, 2024

By Satoshi Honda, Mitsuru Shimizu, Tatsuji Nagao, Motoaki Kurisu, Hirokazu Izumi, Toshinori Takahashi, Hiroyuki Itoi

"1. INTRODUCTION Grade separation of roads and railway tracks is an effective method for solving traffic-related issues in cities. However, in urban areas where the existing traffic infrastructure is already overcrowded, construction of new roads often faces problems especially in the proximity of existing structures. This paper summarizes the construction plan and results of new road tunnel construction in the proximity of the piers of elevated tracks on the Tokaido Shinkansen railway.2. SUMMARY OF CONSTRUCTION AND ISSUES Auxiliary Route No. 26 as specified in the Tokyo urban plan is a project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, covering the construction of a new road with a total length of 22.3 km currently on the way to completion. In Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Auxiliary Route No. 26 is designed to cross the railway tracks of the Yokosuka Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, so for this project, the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was commissioned to design and build a road crossing under the railway tracks (Sumiyoshi Underpass). Figures 1 through 3 show a sketch of the Sumiyoshi Underpass. The Sumiyoshi Underpass was planned as a two-lane tunnel for vehicles, which was to cross under the railway tracks of the Yokosuka Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen Line at an angle of 70 degrees. The structure concerned is a single-story single-span box culvert structure with the following dimensions: 11.5 m wide, 7.7 m high and 31.6 m long. The Tokaido Shinkansen Line tracks were constructed on a girder-type elevated bridge built in the 1960s, and the foundation piles of the piers (P7 and P8) in the proximity of this crossing box culvert of RC structure were constructed using an earth drill method. The crossing structure for this project is located extremely close to the piers of the Tokaido Shinkansen railway tracks, with a minimal separation of 0.4 m, and the most significant issue of this project was construction in a manner that would not obstruct the normal operations of the Tokaido Shinkansen (Figure 4). Initially, we considered installing a temporary earth retaining structure in the proximity of the piers, cutting the ground and building an RC box, but concluded that it would be very difficult to apply this method because of probable excessive displacements in the Shinkansen railway piers. That is why we decided on the use of a non-open cut method in order to minimize the impact on the piers."

Jan 1, 2016

By Edward Jacobsen

The Oak Creek Power Plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin is currently undertaking an expansion project. In order to supply cooling water to this facility, a 27' (8.2m) diameter tunnel will be bored, in rock; to connect to 4 vertical Intake shafts located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4km) offshore in Lake Michigan. In 2004, Case Foundation Company was awarded a lump sum contract to Install these intake shafts. When complete, the plant is expected to circulate upward of 2 billion gallons per day (7.5 billion liters) through this system. Two shafts were drilled in a (shortened) construction season in 2005 and the remaining 2 shafts and 4 liner assemblies were completed in 2006. Future connection to the tunnel, in 2007, will be accomplished by mining upward to reach the lower portion of each liner and then removing its internal bulkheads to permit the flow of the lake water into the tunnel.

May 11, 2007