Tunnel Short Course Draws Capacity Crowd

By admin September 17, 2014

Jeff Petersen of Kiewit kicks off the presentations on Sept. 15 with a discussion on safety considerations for tunnels.

The seventh annual Colorado School of Mines Tunnel Short Course – titled “Breakthroughs in Tunneling” – was held Sept. 15-17 in Golden, Colorado. The course attracts professionals from all over the country – and the globe – to hear presentations by internationally known tunneling and underground construction experts.

Once again, the course was sold out with more than 150 registrants. The course features presentations covering all facets of tunnel design and construction, beginning with safety and geologic investigation, through planning, design, construction and construction management. Included are presentations on equipment innovations and ground improvement.

The Tunnel Short Course Class of 2014

The attendance at this year’s event covered a broad cross section of the industry, including engineering consultants, contractors, owners and manufacturers/suppliers, in addition to Colorado School of Mines students and staff. In fact, the School of Mines UCA of SME student chapter hosted a networking reception on the evening of Sept. 15.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the annual banquet was held at the Golden Hotel, which featured the official presentation of the Tunnel Achievement Award, which was accepted by Louis Brais of Bouygues on behalf of the Port of Miami Tunnel Project. (For a complete report on the project, visit https://tunnelingonline.com/tunnel-achievement-award-port-miami-tunnel/). Brias gave a presentation of the challenging project, which was one of the first in the United States to be completed using a public-private partnership approach.

The Tunnel Short Course is presented by the Colorado School of Mines Office of Special Programs and Continuing Education (SPACE). Course directors are Dr. Levent Ozdemir, Ozdemir Consulting and Professor Emeritus at the School of Mines, and Tim Coss, Microtunneling Inc. The two also serve as the directors for the Microtunneling Short Course (Feb. 10-12, 2015) and the Ground Improvement Short Course (May 18-20). For more information on Colorado School of Mines short courses, visit www.csmspace.com.