Central Subway Tunneling
At the heart of the city of San Francisco lies the Central Subway light-rail line. Extending the Muni Metro T Third Line improves public transportation to and from some of San Francisco���s busiest, most densely populated areas, offering travelers an alternative to heavy traffic congestion.
Overview
In addition to the technical difficulties with drilling two tunnels across a city like San Francisco, the close proximity of active subway routes ��� with only eight feet of separation in the soft ground sections of the alignment ��� added to the challenge.
Technical Highlights
- Two parallel��1.6 mile, pre-cast concrete, segmentally lined, twin-bored subway tunnels.
- Tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch shaft and extraction shaft
- Consolidation and compensation grouting work to prevent building settlement
- Five��emergency cross passages
- Perimetral slurry walls for the future stations
- Completion works for the associated connecting structures (launch shaft for cutters)
- A final service shaft approximately��39 feet in��diameter
RECOGNITION
- Award of Merit 2015 from Engineering-News Record (ENR)
- The Outstanding Transportation Project 2015 award given by the local section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)