The much anticipated “Building Around Existing Tunnels” seminar last week in Sydney was a great success judging by some of the feedback from the 70+ people who attended. In the words of event organiser Ted Nye:
“Thirteen papers were submitted, so a big thank you goes out to the authors who took the time and trouble to write their papers and present.
This was an inaugural event on this specific topic, and I look forward to a follow up seminar in the not-too-distant future. With major tunnelling projects being added to the already extensive Australian portfolio in our major cities I would anticipate follow up seminars in the coming years.
From my personal experience of over 30 years reviewing the interaction between existing tunnels and proposed developments near them, there are still many gaps in the expertise of government regulators, consultants and developers. In many ways we have gone backwards, if my recent experience over the past few years is any guide.
So, the way forward means we need an increase technical expertise in our industry and also accountability for inappropriate regulation. Because of the increase in the latter, we are progressively dumbing down our industry, these projects must be allowed to be assessed using first principles engineering by people with the experience. So, I look forward to this first seminar being a catalyst for future seminars on this important topic where ideas and expertise are shared freely and perhaps even bi-annually.”
This event was jointly sponsored by Engineers Australia, the Australian Geomechanics Society and the Australian Tunnelling Society.
