Microtunneling in Practice: Precision Crossings Beneath Rivers, Railroads, Highways, and Lakes

Some of the most difficult utility crossings in civil infrastructure sit beneath features that cannot be disturbed: a navigable river, an active rail line, an interstate, or a lake that serves as a municipal water supply. Microtunneling is a remotely operated, laser-guided, pipe-jacked tunneling method that allows owners and engineers to install gravity sewer, force main, water transmission, and intake pipe under those features with no open cut, no traffic detour, and no service interruption.

This seminar will provide a practical introduction to microtunneling and its applications, including: railroad crossings, river crossings, highway crossings, and lake taps. Furthermore, the presentation will walk through the process end to end, equipment selection, cutter head arrangement, geotechnical investigation, and receiving shaft design.

Attendees will leave with a working understanding of when microtunneling is the right tool, what a designer needs to provide for the method to succeed, and where the risk actually sits on a crossing of this type.

Guest speaker: Shane McFadden, P.E., Engineering & Construction Innovations, Inc. (ECI)