RETC underway in San FranciscoThe much-anticipated RETC biennial tunnelling event starts at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Sunday 19th June, 2011. The exhibition in the Yerba Ballroom is a sell-out with 128 entries, illustrating once again the resilience and vibrancy of the tunnelling industry.Sunday starts at 07.00h when the short course registration desk opens. Grouting in Underground Construction kicks off at 08.00h, and Large Diameter Tunneling Technologies at 09.00. Both courses complete at 16.00h. The usual round of committee meetings and special programs takes place during the day, along with the New Irvington Tunnel field trip. On Monday, four streams of technical sessions commence at 08.30h and another set starts after lunch at 13.30h, which is sponsored by McNally Construction. The Robbins Company reception starts at 17.00h in the exhibition hall. Tuesday conference follows a similar pattern, with lunch sponsored by American Commercial and CDM, and RETC dinner reception at 18.00h sponsored by Herrenknecht and MWH Global. The RETC dinner starts in Salon 7 at 18.30h. On Wednesday, the morning sessions are followed by a field trip. For more, visit www.smenet.org. 24/11.