Safety Monitoring During Construction of Tunnels and Underground Works in Urban Environments

Tunnels in India play a vital role in water supply, power generation and transportation. At one time, tunnel accidents claimed one life for every half mile of tunnel constructed. Tunneling and underground works involves both general construction risks and risks which are specific to the work environment. Tunnel construction in urban environments represents significant challenges due to subsidence phenomena and possible affections to surrounding structures. Therefore, careful consideration of safety and structural integrity during design & construction is necessary.

This paper discusses major safety aspects during design & construction of tunnels and underground works in urban conditions, and also described the features of sophisticated instrumentation available & adopted today for geotechnical monitoring.