Tunneling in the Heartland

In the pages of TBM, we frequently highlight tunneling projects from the coasts. Megaprojects in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle have been focus areas as these cities have heavily invested in transportation and utility infrastructure. However, there is plenty of need for tunnel construction in the middle of the country as well, many of which are related to mandated projects needed to reduce sewer overflows and improve water quality.

In Ohio – the home state of Benjamin Media and TBM – major tunneling works are under way in Cleveland and Columbus to address overflows, with Cincinnati in the planning stages. Smaller cities are entering the fray as well; Lorain recently began work on its Black River Tunnel (dubbed Lorain’s Big Dig locally) and Akron is planning for two large-bore tunnel projects.

Elsewhere, large tunneling programs, increasingly in conjunction with green infrastructure solutions, are being planned in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Omaha – to name a few. According to reports, more than 770 cities in the United States face consent decrees for their sewer systems. Water Utility Infrastructure Management, a sister publication to TBM, identified 61 communities under consent decrees with projected upgrades totaling roughly $50 billion.

While forecasting the availability of funding for transportation infrastructure can be tricky, these consent decree programs provide some form of stability for the tunneling market. Continued spending for transportation projects along and mandated sewer work provide a positive outlook for the North American market over the next several years.

Tunneling Industry Directory
In this issue we present the 14th annual North American Tunneling Industry Directory. This section features listings of companies involved in tunnel construction from A to Z. The listings are broken out by specialty category and state or province. Following that, each company is listed in alphabetic order with complete contact information. If your firm did not submit a listing or you wish to update your listing, you can do so online at http://www.tunnelingonline.com/buyersguide/index.php. Online updates to the listings will be viewable immediately on the website. Online users are also able to search by demographics including specific equipment or services and location.

TBM Launches iPad App
In case you missed it, TBM has launched a new app for the the iPad, so now there are even more ways of accessing the latest tunneling news. In the age of today’s electronic media, offering TBM as an app was a no-brainer. We’ll continue to publish the magazine as a printed publication, mailing to more than 5,000 tunneling professionals six times per year, but through the app, which is available free of charge through iTunes, we can offer expanded coverage to our readers with exclusive, extended editorial, additional project photos and videos. Advertisers can include direct links to their websites, as well as videos and tabs to engage more customers.

Reading TBM on your tablet gives you easy navigation, zoom capabilities and crystal clear images. As the tunneling industry continues to evolve, so does the way we cover it. With the TBM app, we now have unbelievable reach across our industry. The possibilities of what we can bring you through the app version of TBM are limitless.
To download the app, visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tunnel/id722287206