Tunnel Construction: State of the Art and Research Needs

TRB Special Report 171: Tunnel Construction: State of the Art and Research Needs presents reports on the state of the art in seventeen areas: drillings and blasting, structural supports, machine tunneling, materials handling, tunneling in bad ground, shield-driven tunnels with or without compressed air, long-hole drilling in advance of tunnel penetration, contractual relations in tunnel construction, tunnel safety, exotic methods, sunken tubes, tunnel guidance, predrainage methods for tunnel dewatering, pressure grouting for tunnels, instrumentation in tunnels, cut- and cover tunneling, and use of underground space.

The papers focus on aspects considered most important by specialists in the areas discussed, and make suggestions for research. It is suggested that most of the needed research effort in underground tunneling must be funded by public money.