World Tunnel Congress Visits Vancouver— Strong Turnout Marks ITA's Annual Event

The International Tunnelling Association’s 2010 World Tunnel Congress and 36th General Assembly met in Vancouver, B.C., May 14-20, attracting 1,000 delegates from around the world. It was the first time the World Tunnel Congress was held in North America since 1996 and the first time in Canada since 1989.
The event, themed “Tunnel Vision Towards 2020,” was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in the heart of downtown. Vancouver was announced as the unanimous choice to host the 2010 World Tunnel Congress at the 2007 event in Prague, Czech Republic. The strong turnout included a high number of delegates traveling from beyond North America – including large delegations from Asia and Europe.

Congress Chair Rick Lovat attributed the strong turnout to a number of factors. “Vancouver is a very popular destination, Canada has an active tunneling market that people are interested in learning more about, and we had a strong technical program that covered a wide range of topics. These factors all played a role in attracting people to the conference.”

In addition to the technical program, which spanned three days and was selected from a pool of more than 500 abstracts, the ITA General Assembly convened twice during the event.

Developments coming from the General Assembly included the election of the new ITA president, In-Mo Lee of Korea. Lee becomes the first Asian elected as ITA president. He replaces Martin Knights of the United Kingdom and will serve a three-year term from 2010-2013. In other business, Switzerland was selected as the site of 2013 WTC, edging out Athens, Greece in a close vote.

In addition, a sold-out exhibit hall showcased the latest products and services in the marketplace.

The Congress Opening, held on Monday, May 17, featured the inaugural Muir-Wood Lecture. The Muir-Wood Lecture, named in honor of Sir Alan Muir-Wood, the founding president of ITA who died in 2009, was given by Dr. Einar Broch of Norway, who spoke on the topic of “Tunneling for Hydropower Projects.” Following the lecture were keynote presentations on the Canada Line Transit Project (by Jeff Hewitt, C.Eng., Senior Vice President, Engineering, Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc.) and Tunneling Plans for Transit Expansion in Toronto (by Susan Reed Tanaka, Manager, Engineering Department, Toronto Transit Commission). Entertainment was provided by drums corps and dancers representing the various ethnicities and cultural heritage of Canada.

Lovat said some of the themes that came out of the conference were planning and execution of large projects, and issues and strategies regarding risk mitigation. In fact, Tuesday’s Open Session focused on risk mitigation in a session titled “Ground Reference Information for Bidding Tunnel Projects – Current Practice, Shortcomings/Benefits and Future Challenges.”

The weekend preceding the Congress Opening included the ITACET Tunnel Training Course (attended by more than 200 people), meetings of the executive council and working groups, and an evening reception on Sunday.

In addition to Lovat, who served as Congress Chair, members of the Executive Organizing Committee included: Erik Eberhardt, University of British Columbia; Laurier Forget, National Research Council Canada; Marie Lanouette, National Research Center Canada; Rick Staples, Delcan Corp.; Bill Stellar, EBA Engineering Consultants; Garry Stevenson, Klohn Crippen Berger; and Olivier Vion, ITA. Organizing Committee members included: Claude Berenguier, ITA; Dean Brox, Hatch Mott MacDonald; Francis Gagnier, Pompaction; Brian Garrod, Hatch Mott MacDonald; Steve Skelhorn, McNally; and Derek Zoldy, AECOM.

This year’s event was hosted by the Tunnelling Association of Canada (TAC) and organized by the National Research Council of Canada. Next year the World Tunnel Congress will be held in Helsinki, Finland, May 21-26. The theme of the conference is “Underground Spaces in the Service of a Sustainable Society.”

“Hosting the World Tunnel Congress was a tremendous opportunity for members of the Tunnelling Association of Canada to mingle one-on-one with some of the brightest stars in the industry,” said Staples, TAC president. “We were able to gather people from all around the world – not just North America – making it a truly international event.”

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Work on Alaskan Way Project Moving Forward

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced in April that Skanska Civil USA is the low bidder for the southern mile of the $4 billion Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program. The project will tie in to the central waterfront section, which includes 1.7-mile, 54-in. diameter tunnel along the waterfront in downtown Seattle.

Skanska was the low bidder at $114.6 million for the southern approach, which includes construction of a side-by-side roadway that is expected to be complete by 2013. A total of six bids were received, all of them under the engineer’s estimate of $152 million.

The bored tunnel, which was recommended by city leaders in 2009 to replace to the aging viaduct and meet seismic standards, is expected to begin construction in 2011 and be complete by 2015. WSDOT sent a draft request for proposals in February 2010 after prequalifying four teams for the design-build contract, and was expected to send a final request for proposals in May, with a contractor selected in December.

Three contracting teams remain for the $2 billion tunnel portion: AWV Joint Venture (Kiewit Pacific, Bilfinger-Berger, AECOM), Seattle Tunnel Partners (Dragados USA, HNTB Corp.) and Seattle Tunneling Group (S.A. Healy, FCC Construction, Parsons Transportation Group, Halcrow). VTS JV (VINCI Construction Grand Projects, Traylor Brothers, Skanska USA, Arup), withdrew from consideration after Traylor Brothers was awarded the contract for the Capitol Hill tunnel for Sound Transit.

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Brierly Associates Acquires Lyman Henn, Expands in Northeast

The engineering firm Lyman Henn recently announced that it has completed a business agreement to be acquired by Brierley Associates LLC. Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, Lyman Henn is operating as a division of Brierley Associates. Lyman Henn says that it is confident that the strength of the combined organization will improve its ability to provide tunneling/trenchless engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction management and forensic engineering services throughout the United States.

Tracy Lyman, Ray Henn, Steve Kuehr and all of the Lyman Henn Inc. staff have become Brierley employees and will continue to operate from their office in downtown Denver. This assures customers of continuous service by trusted professionals who are experienced in this marketplace and remain committed to growing their practice in the Colorado/Rocky Mountain Region.

“I am extremely pleased that we have successfully combined the two firms,” said Gary Brierley, president and CEO of Brierley Associates. “Tracy Lyman and I have worked together professionally for close to 30 years and have the utmost respect for each other’s abilities and the companies we have built. The combined senior-level staff of the organization, represented by over a dozen tunneling, trenchless and underground engineering professionals, is a tremendous resource to the underground industry. We are all looking forward to continuing our focused service offerings to the industry in the years ahead.”

In addition, Brierley Associates recently opened an office in Bedford, N.H., which will showcase the work of Brian Dorwart, an internationally recognized expert in trenchless technology.

Dorwart will be supported by Nick Strater and Jay Perkins, who add considerable expertise in geotechnical design and program management. The technical focus of the company’s Northeast Region will include: horizontal directional drilling, microtunneling, auger boring, pipe jacking, pipe ramming, pipe bursting and pipe rehabilitation.

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Menard Introduces New Corporate Identity

Menard, ground improvement specialists, has introduced a new corporate identity following the recent merger of its parent company, Freyssinet Group, with Soletanche Bachy. The new identity is part of consistent branding among all companies in the Soletanche Freyssinet Group, a world leader in specialized civil engineering and construction.

“Our new logo reflects our position as the U.S. branch of Menard, an international specialty ground improvement contractor, and as a part of a global network of geotechnical resources and expertise,” says Seth L. Pearlman, president of Menard.

The Soletanche Freyssinet Group includes Menard, Reinforced Earth and Soletanche Bachy, geotechnical and specialized civil engineering companies; Freyssinet, specialists in prestressing, cable-stayed structures and structural repair; and Nuvia, a leader in the nuclear field.

DGI-Menard is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., and offers a full range of ground improvement services including: controlled modulus columns, wick drains, dynamic compaction, dynamic replacement, vibrocompaction, vibro stone columns and vibro-concrete columns. The company's broad range of ground improvement solutions are alternatives to deep foundations and have been successfully used in the construction of buildings and warehouses, port and airport platforms, heavy industrial storage facilities, roads and railways.

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Nicholson Awarded Transit Contracts in New York, Seattle

Nicholson was recently awarded a subcontract by the joint venture of E.E. Cruz and Tully Construction Co. that includes approximately 200,000 sq ft of diaphragm walls for the construction of the 96th Street station box as part of New York City’s Second Avenue Subway project. Nicholson’s contract also includes jet grouting for a subgrade strut, water cutoff, and temporary support of excavation; compensation grouting for two buildings at excavations for ancillary structures; micropiles within an existing building; and curtain grouting in rock. The project owner is the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The Second Avenue Subway project will include a two-track line along Second Avenue from 125th Street to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. It will also include a connection from Second Avenue through the 63rd Street tunnel to existing tracks for service to West Midtown and Brooklyn.

In Seattle, Nicholson was awarded a subcontract by Traylor Bros./Frontier-Kemper JV that includes temporary shoring and the construction of the permanent reinforced concrete diaphragm walls for the a new light rail station near the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium in Seattle. The project owner is Sound Transit and the work will be completed in a joint venture with Condon-Johnson & Associates.

Contract U220 is part of the University Link project, a 3.15-mile light rail extension between downtown Seattle and the University of Washington. Contract U220 includes the construction of the two 18-ft diameter, 11,400-ft long tunnels and the new University of Washington and Capitol Hill Stations.

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Samuelson Elected President of The Moles

Kirk R. Samuelson, Senior Vice President and member of the Board of Directors at Peter Kiewit Sons Inc., has been elected to serve as President of The Moles for the year 2010-2011. He received the gavel from retiring President Robert A. Alger at the annual business meeting and dinner held May 5 at the New York Hilton.

Other officers elected are First Vice President: Stephan J. Barlow, J.F. White Contracting Co.; Second Vice President: Arthur B. Corwin, Moretrench American Corp.; Treasurer: David M. Cacoilo, Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers; Secretary: William V. McGuinness III, Skanska USA Civil Inc.; and Seargent-at-Arms: Vincent Tirolo Jr., Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc.

Trustees elected for three-year terms are David F. Benton, The Lane Construction Corp.; Nelson Ferreira, Ferreira Construction Co. Inc.; Raymond Gizzi, Ecco III Enterprises Inc.; and Hugh L. Rice III, FMI Corp.

Samuelson earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1979, and that same year he started his Kiewit career on the Market Street Station in Baltimore. From Baltimore, it was on to a variety of projects and assignments on the East Coast in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Samuelson received the Peter Kiewit Excellence in Management Award for his work on the Quinnipiac River Bridge project, known as the Q Bridge, in New Haven, Conn. In 1992, he moved to Florida for the Hurricane Andrew cleanup effort and in the same year, he was transferred to the Southeast District and was named Florida Area Manager. During that time, he worked on a variety of projects, including the Miami International Airport, the Sheridan Avenue Bascule Bridge and the Flagler Memorial Bridge.

Samuelson was named Underground District Manager in 1997 and Division Manager in 2001, overseeing the Underground and Eastern Districts. In 2005, he was named Senior Vice President and in 2006 to the Board of Directors of Kiewit Corp.’s parent company, Peter Kiewit Sons Inc.

Samuelson currently serves as Senior Vice President of Operations Administration, responsible for Kiewit Engineering Company; Midwest Aviation; Home Office Departments, including Design-Build, Safety, Quality, Creative Services, Equipment Operations of Kiewit’s $2 billion equipment fleet, Environmental Compliance; and Information Technology. He also supports Kiewit’s international efforts..

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Akkerman Expands into Middle East, India, Russia and Singapore

Akkerman Inc. is positioned for sales in new markets with recently established representation in the Middle East, India, Russia and Singapore. Agreements with Trenchers Land Digging & Filling LLC based in the United Arab Emirates, Asia Contech Ltd. of India, Intertorg Russia and

ICE Far East in Singapore pioneer exciting prospects for Akkerman Inc. worldwide.

Trenchers Land Digging & Filling LLC of Dubai recently facilitated the sale of a complete guided boring machine (GBM) system for a Kuwait contractor. This sale denotes the first GBM system sold in the Middle East as well as the most powerful pilot tube microtunneling configuration available. The 4812A jacking frame with 200 tons of thrust, 275T power pack, powered cutter head and jetting and lubrication pump will install DN 300-1,000 mm pipes for drives up to 150 m long.

Asia Contech Ltd. of New Delhi, providing sales and service of Akkerman equipment in India, also represents trenchless companies American Augers, ASTEC and Trencor. ICE Far East of Singapore, a south east Asia office for International Construction Equipment (ICE) will represent Akkerman in this region. Intertorg of Moscow, a US based company with expertise in the Russian trenchless market, has been a longtime dealer for Ditch Witch and previously represented Lovat, Soltau and MTS equipment.

Akkerman welcomes these organizations into its community of sales representatives that includes Tunnel Engineering Services in the United Kingdom, Ditch Witch of Australia, Virtual Engineering of Columbia and the Alinea Group of Mexico, which have been agents of Akkerman for many years. Additional representatives have been appointed in Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Brazil, Italy and Pakistan.

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New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel Excavation

On March 24, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel reached its goal: termination of excavation at the base of the completed North Shaft, after traveling 4,200 ft from the South Shaft, where it was launched on Nov. 10, 2009. The best day of excavation was 83 ft, and the overall average since start of excavation on Nov. 10 was 40 ft per day. The TBM was designed by M.L. Shank Co., the shield was manufactured by Hitachi Zosen, and the cutters were provided by Herrenknecht, but most other components were fabricated and assembled on-site between July and October 2009. Shank/Balfour Beatty JV is the general contractor for the project, and Jacobs Associates is providing construction management services for the project owner, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

The planned construction approach was to complete the North Shaft, including the steel pipe installation by mid-2009, and to leave the shield in place when TBM excavation was completed. The TBM will be gutted and salvageable parts backed out of the tunnel and retrieved from the South Shaft. The next big piece of work includes installation of welded steel pipe in the tunnel and backfill with cellular grout, as well as installation of near-surface pipelines, valves, and vaults at the South Shaft. Shutdown No. 1, which involved near-surface piping at the North Shaft being tied into the Sunset Supply Pipeline during a limited system-wide outage, was completed ahead of schedule on March 2.

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