PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Missing Link: Immersed Rail Tunnel Connecting Four Continents A primary objective in DFI’s five year strategic plan is globalization. As I thought about this, I remembered Ben Gerwick’s efforts to create a key transportation link between Eurasia and the Americas. Long before joining the Ben C. Gerwick Company in 1996, I had heard of his and T.Y. Lin’s efforts to promote a bridge across the Bering Strait — they called it the International Peace Bridge. It would have been a truly world-changing prospect, but it never really got off the ground for a number of reasons, including seasonal ice in the strait, political issues and no real need for a road connection. However, a rail connection on the seabed of the strait may be a more appropriate solution. The Washington Post had an article on May 9 stating that the Chinese and Russians have been talking about building a 200 km (124.3 mi) long bored rail tunnel. But a far more economical solution would be a series of three immersed tunnels with a total length of 62 km (38.5 mi). This tunnel would not only be shorter, but perhaps more importantly, construction of the tunnel elements could be performed in a factory setting to the south and floated to the Bering Strait for installation. The only Save the Date exposed site work would be preparation of the tunnel foun- dations and actual immersion of the tunnel elements to connect them in a trench in the seabed. The technology needed to create an immersed rail tunnel link exists today due to methods and technologies developed on the Oresund Tunnel connecting Denmark and Sweden and the Buson-Geoje Tunnel in Korea. The three tunnel segments required Robert B. Bittner, P.E. President [email protected] the tunnel alignment is approxi- mately 55 m (180.4 ft). The tunnel elements could be built in an indoor factory in northern China using the production methods developed on the Oresund Tunnel and currently planned for the new 19 km (11.8 mi) long rail and highway Femern Tunnel, which will connect Denmark and Germany within the next six years. The foundation construction Big Diomede Island Russia Bering Strait Little Diomede Island Alaska United States Satellite photo of the Bering Strait from Wikipedia would be: a 28 km (17.4 mi) segment from Alaska to Little Diomede Island, a 4 km (2.5 mi) segment from Little Diomede to Big Diomede, and a 30 km (18.6 mi) segment from Big Diomede Island to Russia. The maximum water depth along methods and equipment could mimic the screeded gravel bedding for the Oresund and Femern tunnels, and the installation methods in the open sea would be the same as those used to install tunnel elements in 50 m (164 ft) water depth in the open sea off the coast of Korea for the Buson-Geoje Tunnel. Based on the approximate pre- liminary cost estimate for the Femern Tunnel, the Bering Strait tunnel could be built for under $10 billion. The major cost however would be the connecting links to get to the strait. Yet, the only real obstacle is not financial but political. Plan to attend DFI’s international conference on deep mixing being held June 2-5, 2015, in San Francisco, Calif. This is the first time the conference is being held in North America – after being held in Japan (1996, 2002, 2009) and Sweden (1999, 2005). Deep Mixing 2015 provides a forum for international m20x15ng San Francisco, CA deep exchange on advances in materials, equipment, system design and project delivery mechanisms. Applications include support and stabilization of embankments and retaining walls, levees, floodwalls, storage tanks, and other structures; excavation support; liquefaction mitigation; seepage barriers; June 2-5, 2015 and environmental stabilization. Internationally recognized experts will present the state of the art, presentations of landmark projects and cutting edge innovations. The Deep Mixing 2015 conference co-chairs are George Filz, Virginia Tech, and Masaki Kitazume, Tokyo Institute of Technology. Learn more at www.deepmixing2015.org DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2014 • 7 C O N F E R E N C E DFI I ® O T N A S D I N N U S T O I F T U E P T E E D
