Vancouver Shines on World Stage; Portland Is Next

Congratulations are in order for representatives of the Tunnelling Association of Canada, the National Research Center Canada and the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) on a successful World Tunnel Congress, held May 15-20 in Vancouver. More than 1,000 delegates from nearly 60 countries attended the event at the stunning new Vancouver Convention Centre.

The strong turnout reinforces the health of the tunneling market in Canada, North America and worldwide. Indicative of the strength of the Asian market, particularly the booming Chinese market, more than 100 Chinese delegates attended the event, ranking just behind the Canadian hosts and the United States in the number of delegates. As further indication of the state of the market, exhibit space was sold out and the technical program committee received more than 500 abstracts.

On the heels of the World Tunnel Congress in the Pacific Northwest is the North American Tunneling (NAT) Conference, being held in Portland, Ore., June 20-23. NAT, which is held in alternating years with the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC), is the biggest event of the year for tunneling in North America. It is sponsored and organized by the Underground Construction Association of SME. While some in the industry have wondered what effect the international show may have on NAT given the proximity both in time and space, NAT is shaping up to be another strong show. Exhibit space is sold out and conference organizers expect the event to be well attended.

In conjunction with NAT in Portland, we present in this issue a look at tunneling in the Portland area. Most noteworthy in the area are the East Side and West Side CSO tunnels, part of the city’s ongoing CSO abatement program that is improving water quality in the Willamette River and surrounding waters.

The East Side CSO is ongoing while its sister project, the West Side CSO, was recently completed. These projects have become noteworthy for the innovative contracting approach – the so-called “Portland Method” – they employed. The background behind the development of the approach can be found starting on page 19. In addition to the CSO program, we take a look back at the Portland Tri-Met tunnel. The light rail tunnel was built in varying ground in the 1990s and included the deepest transit station built in North America.

I would like to thank Paul Gribbon with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services for his effort in making the Portland article possible. Additionally, the spectacular photos that accompany the text were taken by Sue Bednarz of Jacobs Associates and are used with the permission of the City of Portland.

Regards,

Jim Rush
Editor