Introduction to Tunnel Construction Second Edition

Abstract

Since the first edition of this book was published in 2010, there have been many developments both in the quantity of tunnelling projects occurring internationally and also in the number of projects pushing the boundary of tunnelling capability in terms of size, length and ground conditions. With all the recent developments and advances in tunnelling, we could have written a book twice as long and still not covered everything. However, it is not the purpose of this book to cover everything to do with this topic, but to give you a flavour of the exciting world of tunnelling and to equip you with the necessary knowledge to understand the key elements of the tunnel construction process. We therefore feel that most of the first edition of our book is still relevant. However, we have made a number of changes aimed at enhancing the original information. This second edition therefore has more references to project examples within the text and a new case study related to Crossrail’s project in London, UK. This edition also provides extensive additional guidance on where to find more in-depth information via accessible articles, reports and papers. The idea behind this book has always been to spark the readers’ interest in tunnelling, particularly students, which they can take forward into their future careers. We therefore hope you enjoy reading this second edition of our book. There has never been a better time to enter into a career in tunnelling as it is safer, and more technologically advanced than ever before