British Tunnelling Society

2024 HARDING MEMORIAL LECTURE 📅 November 24th, 18:00 (GMT) 🗺️ Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), One Great George St, London SW1P 3AA Charles Allen, director of OTB CONCRETE LIMITED, will deliver this year’s British Tunnelling Society Harding Memorial Lecture. In the lecture entitled “What could possibly go wrong? …greenwashing and other things”, Allen will outline his 50 years in the construction industry and discuss the causes of errors in the tunnelling sector, including a lack of engineering judgment. With 60-80% of embodied carbon contained in the shaft and tunnel linings of a tunnelling project, he will emphasise the urgent need to decarbonise concrete linings and question the current assumption that shotcrete final linings are beneficial for carbon reduction. He will also address the often-overlooked issue of sewer tunnel lining deterioration caused by biogenic corrosion, presenting testing results and potential concrete solutions. Allen will also discuss developments in geopolymer concrete, its use in the UK, and the publication of BSI Flex 350, the Code of Practice for Alternative Binder Systems for Lower Carbon Concrete. Read more online: https://lnkd.in/g87FyJTF Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

IN MEMORY OF RODNEY CRAIG It is with great sadness that the BTS has to inform of the passing of Rodney Craig one of the greats in British tunnelling. Joan his widow provided a message to the Society asking to let Rodney’s colleagues know of his passing:    “I write to tell you that Rodney died peacefully last Thursday (17 October) in the nursing home where he has been since July 2021. He fell at home in February that year damaging his spinal cord. Rodney had always loved his work and the BTS and his colleagues in the industry. I used to read to him articles from the NCE and Tunnels & Tunnelling and he would explain to me the many technicalities I did not understand. His funeral will be on Wednesday 13 November at 11am at Little Missenden Church HP7 0RA followed by a get together at Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club HP16 0DG. I should be very grateful if you would let Rodney's colleagues know about his death. It would be very helpful if anyone planning to come to the funeral would let me know. [joancraig43@gmail.com]".   Rodney spent many years as a leading tunneller and director in Halcrow, helping to deliver numerous significant tunnel projects at home and abroad and mentoring many a young tunneller. Rodney was an ardent supporter of the BTS and the ITA and he was awarded the James Clark Medal in 2004 in recognition of his valuable contribution to the Society's activities.   With regards and in memory of Rodney,   John Corcoran, BTS Chair Alastair Smith, BTS Vice-Chair

TENDER LAUNCHED FOR NEW KENT TUNNEL Kent County Council has launched a tender for tunnel engineering and construction works near the Bluewater Shopping Centre. Fastrack Bean Road Tunnel will be a new, 75m-long tunnel – technically an underpass because of its short length – through the chalk spine under the Bean Road between Whitecliffe (former Eastern Quarry) and Bluewater Shopping Centre. It will connect the shopping centre to the new Whitecliffe housing development and Ebbsfleet International Railway Station. It will form part of the Fastrack bus rapid transit system within Kent Thameside. The tunnel will house a 3.5m-wide bi-directional Fastrack busway linking Whitecliffe and Bluewater, as well as a combined footway / cycleway and footway linking the Whitecliffe and Bluewater as part of the Ebbsfleet Garden City green corridor network. The project value is £25.5m with a construction cost budget of approximately £20.43m. Read more online: https://lnkd.in/ex9m8pJU Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

COIRE GLAS FOCUS OF BTS GLASGOW LECTURE The Coire Glas hydro pumped storage scheme will be the subject of a British Tunnelling Society and The Concrete Society joint event in Glasgow on November 20. SSE Renewables has invested over £100M to date in the proposed Coire Glas hydro pumped storage scheme, with a significant proportion assigned to ground investigation. Coire Glas, at Loch Lochy in the Scottish Highlands, will be the largest such scheme to be developed in the UK for over 40 years and will include caverns 700m below ground level and over 12km of tunnels. The 1.2km exploratory tunnel was completed in August. The two speakers at the event at the Glasgow Marriott will be SSE Renewables project manager Andy Gregory, and STRABAG UK sub-agent Douglas Whiteford. Andy Gregory has been involved in all stages of the scheme, from feasibility to the present day and is currently project manager for the site exploratory works package. He will explain the scheme development to date, and describe the works executed to minimise the risk from unexpected ground conditions through collection of high-quality data to be used in main works design. Douglas Whiteford will cover the execution of the project’s exploratory works contract carried out by STRABAG in 2023-2024. Whiteford has worked on the Coire Glas exploratory works since 2022 and will present the logistics of establishing and servicing a site in a remote area of the Scottish Highlands. He will also describe the drill and blast tunnelling methodology used with a sprayed concrete lining and rock dowels for tunnel support. The lecture is an in-person event and is free, but spaces are limited to 50 so advance registration is essential. To register, contact James Halfpenny, james.halfpenny@breedongroup.com; 07711859151 Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

HARDING MEMORIAL LECTURE: “WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? …GREENWASHING AND OTHER THINGS” Charles Allen, director of OTB CONCRETE LIMITED, will deliver this year’s Harding Memorial Lecture in London on November 24. In the lecture entitled “What could possibly go wrong? …greenwashing and other things”, Allen will outline his 50 years in the construction industry and discuss the causes of errors in the tunnelling sector, including a lack of engineering judgment. With 60-80% of embodied carbon contained in the shaft and tunnel linings of a tunnelling project, he will emphasise the urgent need to decarbonise concrete linings and question the current assumption that shotcrete final linings are beneficial for carbon reduction. He will also address the often-overlooked issue of sewer tunnel lining deterioration caused by biogenic corrosion, presenting testing results and potential concrete solutions. Allen will also discuss developments in geopolymer concrete, its use in the UK, and the publication of BSI Flex 350, the Code of Practice for Alternative Binder Systems for Lower Carbon Concrete. Read more online: https://lnkd.in/g87FyJTF Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

BTS WELCOMES NEW ITA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The ITA-AITES has appointed Helen Roth as its new executive director. Everyone at the British Tunnelling Society want to extend their warmest congratulations and excitement for the ongoing support of the ITA-AITES globally. Tunnels and Tunnelling International reported that she will take up the position on January 1, 2025. Roth, a Norwegian national, will bring a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in transport infrastructure and organisation administration to the position. She will join the ITA-AITES at a pivotal time for the Association and the demands on the global tunnelling and underground infrastructure industry. “Helen’s leadership and experience qualities are precisely what the ITA needs to navigate the evolving growth and administration of our Association,” said ITA-AITES president Arnold Dix. “Her proven ability to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and achieve results makes her the ideal steward for our activities and ambitions. We are thrilled to welcome her and excited to chart the way forward with her.” Read more online: https://lnkd.in/gagasfSC Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

OCTOBER EDITION OF TUNNELS & TUNNELLING INTERNATIONAL We are pleased to share below a pared-down version of the October 2024 edition of the official British Tunnelling Society publication - Tunnels and Tunnelling International. The edition features a special focus on Shafts and Caverns. We have a lead piece looking at mechanised shaft sinking, from Herrenknecht AG's Stefan Frey, looking at urban construction with vertical shaft sinking machines. We also take a deep-dive on Raiseboring on the TELT Lyon Turin project as Master Drilling Europe AB deliver a cluster of deep tunnel shafts via raiseboring at the TELT Base Tunnel. Looking back on a recent British Tunnelling Society meeting George Doulkas acts as rapporteur covering COWI's Carola Edvardsen's presentation on watertight structure challenges and self-healing concrete cracks. Finally Julian Champkin had the chance to sit down with former BTS Chair Bill Grose to reflect on his storied career, time at Arup, and his role as the non-Executive Director of the House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Groups for Underground Space and Infrastructure. See it here: https://lnkd.in/eYFhNKS4 Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

LONDON TIDEWAY TUNNEL NOW IN OPERATION London’s super sewer, the Tideway London Tunnel, has been brought into operation at four sites. The valves, which operate like giant gates, are now open at four of the 21 locations that make up the system. The rest of the valves are due to come online over the next few months and the sewer will be fully open next year. Thames Water will then operate the system as part of its London wastewater network. Data published today shows that in one day, when London had heavy rainfall on September 23, 589,000m3 of wastewater was captured by the system with just the first connections activated. In May, the 25km sewer was connected to the 6.9km Lee Tunnel – completing the full Tideway London Tunnel network, which has a combined capacity of 1.6 million m3. Read more online: https://lnkd.in/eWDt3UwT Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

NEW QUALIFICATION FOR TUNNELLING TEAMS WORKING WITH OVERGROUND CONVEYOR SYSTEMS TunnelSkills working closely with CITB has developed a new competence qualification and associated training standard for those working with overground conveyor systems. The new ‘Overground Spoil Removal Conveyor Systems’ pathway is now available within the Level 2 NVQ in Tunnelling Operations. A CITB Grant of £600 is available to CITB registered employers on achievement of the NVQ2. Recognising the need for training in this area, a new training course has also been developed and is available for delivery via approved training providers. CITB Grant is available to CITB registered employers on completion of the training course (Tier 1 Grant of £60). For further details please contact fto@tunnelskills.org Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling

SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL EXPLORES TUNNEL POTENTIAL Shetland Islands Council has commissioned a transport feasibility study for the area, including the possibility of tunnels between islands. A consortium of COWI, Stantec and Mott MacDonald will explore the potential benefits and challenges of different transport options, including both improved ferry services and fixed links. The outcome of the Inter-Island Transport Connectivity Programme will be a comprehensive network strategy for the next 30 years. COWI will focus on the fixed link element, undertaking geological assessments, environmental impact considerations, engineering challenges, and economic analyses. Stantec’s director of transport planning, Stephen Canning, said “the future of connectivity” was a fundamental concern for Shetland Islanders. “The ability to access employment, services, and leisure opportunities on Shetland Mainland; move high value goods; and facilitate travel to and service delivery in the islands requires a high-quality and resilient inter-island transport network,” he said. Islanders have been campaigning for fixed links. Read more online: https://lnkd.in/ep-KzFYq Follow the British Tunnelling Society for the latest insight on tunnel-related matters To learn about the benefits of joining the British Tunnelling Society click here: https://bit.ly/3r0MPoU #BritishTunnellingSociety #civilengineering #undergroundconstruction #tunnelling