We provide comprehensive services for every aspect of the construction of your tunnels and underground project, including ground investigation, tunnel design, ground improvement, initial and final support, instrumentation and monitoring, tunnel systems, and ventilation/fire life safety aspects.
Furthermore, we also have the expertise to provide support across the entire project, from design, to construction management, to testing and commissioning. We also provide condition assessment, rehabilitation, re-purposing and upgrading of tunnels and underground transportation facilities.
Tunnels begin with Ground Investigation, because accurate surveys are the best way to prevent surprises and delays later down the road. Our geotechnical experts have dedicated years not only to the practice, but also research in order to continuously build upon our understanding of ground behavior when excavated.
The result is an unparalleled breadth of acumen that continues to improve our ability to construct underground facilities without disturbing existing facilities and utilities and to ensure that our work doesn’t impact the surrounding area.
Technology-Driven Design
Our design team works extensively with the latest technology such as numerical modeling of ground/structure interaction, as well as BIM and VDC, to perfect schematics in virtual reality, allowing problems to be rectified before ground is broken and reducing the likelihood of surprises arising during construction that could cause delays, extra costs, or damage to surrounding structures.
Our wide-ranging expertise in rail, roads, and aviation means that we understand transportation tunnels from all sides of the project, providing a holistic approach to their design and construction.
Rail and Transit Tunnels
WSP has managed large complex tunneling projects, set records in designing TBM-driven tunnels, and has engineered tunnels that are exceptionally deep, large in diameter and set in challenging ground conditions. We regularly advise transit agencies on the increasingly critical issues of tunnel safety and security, vulnerability assessment, durability, sustainability, and risk management.
Road and Highway Tunnels
Whether threading tunnels under busy city streets, or boring through mountainous terrain, we are experienced in designing and managing a variety of construction techniques, including conventional drill-and-blast excavation, soft ground or hard rock tunnel boring machines.
We are also experienced in the use of specialized techniques like soft-ground or hard-rock sequential excavation, and immersed tube technology. Our projects have involved some of the most challenging ground conditions, high water pressures, and seismic or environmental conditions.
We designed the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement in Seattle, the largest diameter tunnel in the world, and recently completed construction of the Eurasia Tube in Istanbul, one of the deepest underwater tunnels in the world.
