Four finalists have been announced for the major project of the year
category which focusses on ‘Managing Urban Expansion’. The awards will be held
in Miami, USA from the 18th to the 20th of November 2019.
Since 2015, the international competition "ITA
Tunnelling and Underground Space Awards" has sought to reward the most
ground-breaking innovations and outstanding projects in underground
construction. The 2019 edition will take place on 18-20 November, in Miami, FL
during the 8th Annual Cutting Edge conference organized by UCA of SME and the
Tunnelling Journal.
Through 8 categories, this competition aims to identify the
most important ongoing underground works and technologies that help cities
change and enable habits and ways of life to evolve in order to build smart and
sustainable urban areas.
One of the categories of the competition is focused on
rewarding the Major Project of the Year (over €500M). Amongst the 8 projects
submitted for this category, the panel of judges identified 4 finalists that
seem to pursue one common goal: managing urban expansion. Global growth impacts large-scale urban
regions, in particular their attractiveness. However, land expansion occurs at
the edge of existing urban areas, and cities have to adapt and change by
investing in transport infrastructure to strengthen inner urban development or
"city-to-city" connections despite difficult and complex geological
conditions. Whether they entail high-speed railways or urban tunnels, transport
infrastructure projects are at the core of urban expansion management, and the
4 finalists give further evidence of current mega-projects undertaken around
the world.
TWO MEGA PROJECTS TO STRENGHTEN INNER URBAN
DEVELOPMENT
TUEN MUN – CHEK LAP KOK LINK NORTHERN CONNECTION
SUB-SEA TUNNEL SECTION – HONG KONG, CHINA
One of the finalists for the Major Project of the Year in
the over-€500M category is the Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Link, which will provide
an alternative access route to the Hong Kong International Airport located on
Chek Lap Kok Island, which up to now has only been accessible via the Tsing Ma
Bridge.
The works comprise a 4.5-km twin-tube sub-sea tunnel with 57
cross passages as well as a 500m cut and cover section. Construction required
two slurry TBMs with an excavation diameter of 14m. The teams had to use
innovative solutions to cope with harsh ground conditions and hydrostatic
pressure of 5bars at tunnel face (55m below sea level). The first 630m of
excavation were also operated by a 17.63m diameter TBM (world’s largest TBM),
which was then reconfigured as a 14m diameter machine. 41 sub-sea cross
passages were also constructed by mini TBM. The first breakthrough was
completed on 27 February 2019 and the overall cost of works is estimated at
€2.36bn.
Client: Highways Department (the Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region)
Contractors: Dragages Hong Kong Ltd & Bouygues Travaux
Publics
Engineering firms: AECOM; DBJV; ARUP; ATKINS and Golder
WUHAN SANYANG ROAD YANGTZE RIVER TUNNEL PROJECT –
CHINA
The Wuhan Sanyang Road Yangtze River Tunnel is the first
tunnel under the Yangtze river. It connects the Hankou and Wuchang districts in
the city of Wuhan. This underground construction project consists of an urban
road tunnel, two subway stations and a subway section that crosses the Yangtze
River. It will not only serve as a corridor for the urban road tunnel and Line
7 subway tunnel, but it will also be an important part of Wuhan’s urban road
network and subway network.
In the cross-river section constructed by by a shield TBM ,
the urban road part is built in a superposed scheme, over the subway. This kind
of tunnel is a world premiere and the diameter used for tunnelling is the
largest in China for shield tunnels.
The construction of the urban-metro tunnel provides a new
idea for intensive use of cross-river channel resources and underground urban
spaces. The construction of urban tunnel and subway tunnel in a superposed
manner challenges the traditional separated scheme and has remarkable
environmental and economic benefits. It saves about 120,000 square meters of
land, reduces house demolition significantly, and saves a total of about
75€M in investment. Overall cost for this project is €943.7M.
Client: Wuhan Metro Group Co. Ltd
Contractors: Shanghai Tunnel Engineering; China Railway Erju
Group; China Railway 18 Bureau Group
Stakeholders: China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group; China
Railway No.5 Engineering Group
Engineering firms: China Railway Siyuan and Design Group;
Wuhan Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute; Hubei Provincial
Communications Planning and Design Institute; Shanghai Municipal Engineering
Management Consulting.
TWO MEGA PROJECTS TO CREATE LARGE SCALE URBAN
AREAS
THE SEOUL METROPOLITAN HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT –KOREA (YULHYEON TUNNEL)
The Seoul Metropolitan High-Speed Railway connects Suseo to
Pyeongtaek. The entry submitted is focused on the Yulhyeon tunnel, which is the
longest (52.3km) and the deepest (50m) in South Korea.
This project is considered the most difficult one in South
Korea for several reasons: located under the Gyeongbu High Speed Railway
(running at a speed of 300km/h) and the large underground station Dongtan, the
tunnel also goes through the Singal fault zone. This required a special design
that had to be studied closely using such techniques as a 3-dimensional soil
resistivity test, ultrasound scan well logging, and physical dynamics tests.
Other innovative techniques, such as automatic measurement, vibration-isolation
blasting technique and adoption of U.P.M., were also implemented to ensure
complete safety. Civil engineering works were completed in 2017 and the project
cost about €2bn.
Client: Korea Rail Network Authority
Contractors: Samsung C&T and 9 other nations
Stakeholders: Korea Railroad T&C and 14 other
nations
Engineering firms: Dong Myeong E&C and 9 other
nations
THE EPC TBM FOLLO LINE - NORWAY
The Follo Line Project is one of the most ambitious
infrastructure initiatives in Scandinavia, as it aims to connect Oslo to Ski
via the construction of a 22.5-km High-Speed Railway.
The main part of the project is a 20-km twin-tube tunnel
section. Despite hard rock conditions in
Norway and geological complexity, the teams have met the challenge of using
TBM.
Four tailor-made TBMs were customized and used to crush the
hard Norwegian rocks. Works were operated from a large rig-area located halfway
between Oslo and Ski. The project established new standards in terms of safety
and sustainability: spoil was transported up to the surface for use as a
basement for a new residential area, and the re-use of excavated materials
using conveyor belts contributed to reducing CO2 emissions and diminishing
environmental disturbance. Geological mapping and drilling investigations were
performed on a daily basis to detect water from fracture zones as well as
continuous measurement of pressure and mitigations.
When completed (2022), the Follo Line will be the longest
high-speed railway in Scandinavia, enabling 50% reduction in travel time and
improving mobility between Oslo and Ski. The EPC Follo Line project cost
960€M.
Client: Bane NOR Norwegian National Rail Administration
Contractors: Acciona Infrastructure and Ghella S.p.A Joint
Venture
Stakeholders: Ministry of transport and communication,
Norwegian Railway Directorate, Municipalities of Oslo, Oppegard and Ski
Engineering firms: Acciona Ingeneria, COWI
About the International Tunnelling and Underground Space
Association:
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space
Association (ITA) is a non-profit and nongovernmental international
organization that promotes the use of underground space for a solution to
sustainable development. Founded in 1974 and operating out of Geneva,
Switzerland, ITA currently has 78 Member Nations, 300 affiliated members, 17
Prime Sponsors and 60 supporters, as well as individual members. For further information please visit https://awards.ita-aites.org/
