congress 2014
40th ITA-AITES
General
Assembly
May 9 th to 15 th, 2014
Iguassu Falls - Brazil
Tunnels in Brazil
Past, Present and Future
Hugo Cssio Rocha, President of CBT-ABMS
Message from
Organizing Committee
Welcome to the World Tunnel Congress 2014.
On behalf of the WTC Organizing Committee,
I would like to thank you for all of your support
to make this event possible. We are pleased to
report that we have full sponsorship and that the
exhibition booths have been sold out for months.
Nearly 400 papers have been approved, so we feel
confident there will be stimulating presentations
for all our over 1.200 participants. This will be a
great opportunity for us to reconnect with the
international community, do some networking,
make new contacts, and exchange experiences.
The Organizing Committee wishes you a truly
memorable experience here in Iguassu Falls.
And, of course, we all look forward to socialising
during the Welcome Reception and Gala dinner,
coffee breaks, and meals. You wont want to miss
the natural beauty of Iguassu Falls!
After the Congress, you have several technical
visits at your disposal. You can tour the Itaipu
Hydroelectric Power Plant, or you can head north
to visit Porto Maravilha rehabilitation project
downtown Rio de Janeiro. Or, see Rios subway
system and go see So Paulos ring road and
downtown subway. Brazil presents all the promise
and challenges of tropical geography and geology.
We trust you will come away with new insights
and ideas. Your presence is sure to benefit many.
So, once again, welcome to the World Tunnel
Congress 2014 here in Brazil!
We are happy to have you here.
Tarcsio B. Celestino
Chaiman of the Organizing Committee
Message from
ITA-AITES
On behalf of ITA-AITES, it is my utmost pleasures to great all the delegates as well as the honourable
guests of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 and the 40th General Assembly. It is a pleasure to see that in our
Associations 40th year anniversary our activity level within ITA-AITES is very high and at the same time the
global tunnelling market seems to be bigger than ever. It gives me confidence for the future and that our
Association will continue to be an important global player.
WTC2014 will be the second to be hosted in South America and the second in Brazil. After a memorable WTC
and General Assembly in 1998 in So Paulo, we are this year looking forward to go to Iguassu.
The main theme of the congress is Tunnels for a better life. Since ITAs creation in 1974, this motto has
been important for us. From the origin, tunnels have always been built to improve the life of people all
around the world, through tunnels transporting water, sewage, or transporting people in trains, by cars or
in metropolis urban transport.
In South America and especially in Brazil, the mega cities demands more and improved mass urban transport
systems, and also high speed railway lines to connect the constant increasing cities.
The underground is also used in exploiting natural resources, either through mining but also utilising
renewable energies. As we see an increasing relationship between the mining and tunnelling industry ITA
decided to dedicate this year open session to the theme Underground Space and Natural Resources, which
I hope you will find of interest.
The WTC will also be the place for the ITA General Assembly and all the ITA associated meetings in the
Working Groups and Committees; I do hope that you will be able to actively participate and share your
knowledge.
I am sure you will attend many technical sessions during the WTC to learn about the projects and technical
development around the world but equally important is the networking and to meet old and new friends.
So I encourage you to visit the exhibition and attend the social events.
I am looking forward to meet you all and I do hope that all of the 71 ITA Member Nations will be able to
participate and that we together can celebrate the 40th anniversary of our association.
Looking forward to seeing you in Iguassu.
Best regards,
Sren Degn Eskesen
ITA President 2013-2016
Message from
CBT - Brazilian Tunnelling Committee
Tunnelling technique and natural beauty in Iguassu Falls
The international tunnelling community arrives in Brazil at a very special
moment for our infrastructure. The country is experiencing a period of
renewed investments. There are more than 42 kilometres of tunnels
under construction. In every region of the country, ongoing underground
works aim at improving the cities infrastructure. Besides, more than 150
kilometres of tunnelling works must start soon. The figures show that Brazil
is investing in infrastructure and that underground works are now part of
list of feasible solutions for the needs of Brazilian cities. As it happens in
many countries, Brazil is realising that underground works are, most of the
times, the most appropriate solution.
Some of the main ongoing projects are Fortaleza Metro, the expansion of
So Paulo Metro (around 70 kilometres by 2016), Porto Maravilha in Rio de
Janeiro, the expansion of Line 4 of Rio Metro and the north section of Ring
Road in So Paulo (14 tunnels with extension of 11,8 kilometres). There are
also some projects being analysed, such as Curitiba Metro, Porto Alegre
Metro, Belo Horizonte Metro, the high speed train which will connect
Campinas, So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and the immersed tunnel between
Santos and Guaruj, which bidding will be opened in the first semester of
2014.
And it is now that the World Tunnel Congress 2014 takes place, when the
attention of the whole world in turned to Brazil. However, the technical
experience is not the only attractive of this event. There is also the dazzling
scenario offered by Iguassu Falls. Located in the triple border among
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, the city enchants visitors by its natural and
exuberant landscape. The falls and the huge diversity of fauna and flora are
some of its most important attractions. So much so that Iguassu National
Park was Brazils first Conservation Unit to be designated a World Natural
Heritage by UNESCO in 1986.
The Brazilian Tunnelling Committee (CBT) is glad to receive you!
Welcome to Iguassu Falls. Welcome to WTC2014.
Hugo C. Rocha
President of CBT
comittees
Executive Organising Committee
Tarcsio Barreto Celestino - Chairman of the Congress
Hugo Cssio Rocha - Vice Chairman
Jairo Pascoal Jnior - Secretary-General
Edson Peev - Treasurer
Akira Koshima - Sales & Marketing
Olivier Vion - ITA-AITES Executive Director
Rick Lovat - ITA-AITES Executive Council Member
Andr Pacheco de Assis - President of the ABMS
Scientific Committee
Arsenio Negro Jnior - Chairman
Werner Bilfinger - Vice Chairman
Marlisio Oliveira Cecilio Jr. - Secretary
Adam Bezuijen
Claudio Casarin
Giulia Viggiani
Akira Koshima
Christos Tsatsanifos
Hans de Wit
Alain Guilloux
David Oliveira
Davorin Kolic
Heinrich K. Heinz
Alejo Sfriso
Donald Lamont
Heinz Ehrbar
Alexandre R. A. Gomes
Edson Peev
Amanda Elioff
Edgard Bard
Jacques Robert
Anna Lewandowska
Eivind Grv
Jamie Standing
Jinxiu Yan
Jonathan Baber
Antonio Samaniego
Eric Leca
Fabrice Emeriault
Jzsef Mecsi
Arnold Dix
Felipe Gobbi
Fernando Olavo
Buddhima Indraratna
Lars Babendererde
Luis Valenzuela
Gabriel Auvinet
Charles W. W. Ng
Georg Anagnostou
Christian Ingerslev
Giacomo Re
Chungsik YOO
Gino Rivera
Luiz Vaz
Makoto Namba
Pekka Srkk
Mandy Korff
Peter-Michael Mayer
Robert Galler
Marco Barla
Roberto Terzariol
Markus Thewes
Sergio Fontoura
Michael G. Francis
Stefano Aversa
Michael Kawadas
Michel Deffayet
Tiago Ern
Michael Tonnesen
Ulrich Klotz
Mitsutaka Sugimoto
Vaclav Vesely
Mostafa Sharifzadeh
Neil Taylor
Waldemar Hachich
Nick Shirlaw
Werner Bilfinger
P.L.Richard Pang
Yun Bai
Tunnels in Brazil
Past, Present and Future
Hugo Cssio Rocha, President of CBT-ABMS
1. introduction
Development of the Brazilian tunnelling industry began in the second half of the 19th century with tunnelling in rock.
At this stage, only three centuries following the start of the Portuguese colonization and just a few decades following
Independence, the entire work was planned and executed by foreign engineers. However, experience in projects and
underground construction began to develop very rapidly among local professionals. Since those days there have been
many changes in the tunnelling industry market.
2. Background
19th Century
The first tunnel excavated in Brazil, around 1860, would probably have been a small tunnel excavated in rock at the
famous Unio and Indstria Highway close to the city of Trs Rios, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with the exception of
the mining tunnels at the city of Ouro Preto, Mina da Passagem at the city of Mariana and the early excavations at the
Morro Velho mine for extracting gold.
The first railroad tunnels in Brazil were opened around 1860. But the most important engineering work at the time was
the long series of 15 tunnels that became known as Section 2 of the Dom Pedro II Railroad, at Japeri - Barra do Pira,
a line on the coastal mountains of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Dom Pedro II was the Emperor of Brazil at the time and
frequently visited the construction sites.
Figure 1 (by Marc Ferrez) is a photograph taken during the Emperors visit on the day of the breakthrough of Tnel
Grande. This was one of the most notable engineering achievements in Brazil at the time: a wide gauge railroad of
around 400 metres in technically difficult conditions that required the excavation of 15 tunnels ranging in length from
25 to 2,238 metres, totalling 5,220 metres. Some were excavated in soil or decomposed rock, so that the arch was lined
in brickwork, while the others were in hard rock. They were all 4.2 metres wide, with a maximum height of 5.8 metres.
The highlight was the so-called Tnel Grande with 2,238 metres in length.
Still according to Silva Telles (2006), work began in 1858, but the
excavation of Tnel Grande was only concluded in June 1864, with
inauguration occurring only in December 1865. The tunnels in rock,
including Tnel Grande, were excavated using chisels, hammers and
gun powder. No mechanical drills existed at that time and dynamite
would only be invented in 1866.
Underground construction was very active at the time. The works
on the so-called Centre Line, from Rio de Janeiro (RJ) towards Belo
Horizonte (MG), began in 1865 and had 20 tunnels, the longest being
552 metres. Among all these tunnels, number 30, with 360 metres,
located in the Joo Ayres canyon in the Mantiqueira Mountain Ridge
deserved special attention because it was the hallmark of early
engineering concerns with the stability of the slopes in that area,
still an important problem nowadays.
In mentioned canyon, a cut with very high slopes was initially
constructed; later, it was converted into a tunnel to avoid railroad
blockages caused by constantly falling rocks. The transformation
took place in 1901 and the arch was built in reinforced concrete the
Between 1877 and 1879, the Navys stretch of the D. Pedro II Railroad was built in Rio de Janeiro. It was a short
stretch, with the excavation of two tunnels, 315 and 86 metres long, to cross the So Diogo Hill, running to the port.
The structure had two important novelties: the use of compressed air drill bits (the Ingersoll system powered by a
steam locomotive) and the use of dynamite, the Emperor himself detonating the first explosion (Telles 2006).
The introduction of dynamite led to a significant increase in underground construction. During the duplication of the
Dom Pedro II railroad, the second gallery of Tnel Grande was excavated in 11 months, while the first tunnel with the
same length had required seven years work.
Rio de Janeiro saw the construction of the oldest road tunnels in Brazil (Carvalho-2006): one at Rua Alice (formerly Rio
Comprido, concluded in 1887) and the Alaor Prata (the former Tnel Velho, concluded in 1891).
Another striking structure of this period was the railroad between Paranagu and Curitiba which traversed a region
of varying topography with 13 tunnels built between 1880 and 1884, excavated in rock and with a total length of
1,702 metres. The longest tunnels are the Roa Nova (429 m), the Boa Vista (250 m) and the Pico do Diabo (156 m).
20th Century
In the early 20th century, Brazilian engineers were in charge of
the main tunnelling works taking place in the country. The year
1904 saw the excavation of the second tunnel to Copacabana, in
The tunnels never experienced major stability or maintenance problems. The cuts, on the other hand, took many
years to be stabilized, primarily because of the execution technique used, which did not take into consideration the
peculiarities of the residual soils in the tropical mountainous region. The scars of the landslides above the cuts can be
seen even today, since they expose the bare rock.
Figure 3 shows one of the
tunnels during the construction
period and a recent photo of the
location. Worthy of note are the
severe topographical conditions
and the highly dense tropical
vegetation.
Figure 3 One of the tunnels of the Sorocabana railroad under construction (Telles)
and a recent photo of the location
10
This period witnessed the first road tunnel in the city of So Paulo, the
Nove de Julho tunnel, started in 1936 and concluded in 1938. In this
tunnel, the inverted excavation system was used in the Southern tunnel
portal (Figure 4).
The development of modern tunnel engineering in Brazil began in the
Photo from the book Tunnelling in Brazil, 2006
1950s and 1960s, with the planning and construction of the metro systems
in So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in addition to numerous road tunnels in
the latter city.
Between 1949 and 1954, the Paulo Afonso I HEPP (Hydroelectric Power
Plant) was built, the first with an underground power house designed
and built by Brazilian engineers. In the immediate surroundings the
Paulo Afonso II, III and IV HEPPs were subsequently built. The latter, built
between 1974 and 1978, became a milestone of Brazilian engineering,
with a cross-section of 22,6 metres x 25 m x 54 m (L/W/H). This was the first
power house cavern with overhead travelling crane beams fixed with rock
anchors instead of supported by pillars. It is also important to point out
the presence of several tunnels and shafts with rock anchors applied on
account of the systematic geological mapping of the walls.
Figure 4 - The Nove de Julho Tunnel
During the 1960s and 1970s, the works of large and important tunnels
in So Paulo
(Carvalho 2006)
(So Paulo)
May 9th to 15th, 2014
Iguassu Falls - Brazil
11
In the 1980s, several underground works for power generation stood out, such as
Tunnelling in Brazil, 2006
the power house of the Serra da Mesa Plant (Figure 9) and the construction works of
the Green Line 2 of the So Paulo Metro, in which two tunnel boring machines were
used one with a closed face installing expanded concrete ring lining (Figure 10)
and the other with open face, in which bolted-on rings were used and urban road
tunnels in So Paulo.
This
period
also
saw
tunnel
works
Ao Tunnel
Imigrantes
on
the
Highway
Photo - Metro-SP
under Avenida Santo Amaro (the Tribunal de Justia tunnels Figure 11).
12
21st Century
A recent survey, without statistical approach, carried out by the Brazilian
Tunnelling Committee shows that there has been a notable increase
in underground construction for civil engineering purposes. The total
constructed volume in the 1990s was less than four million cubic metres.
Over the next five years, the volume leaped to over 11 million, a rate of
increase of more than 500%.
Greater demand for new tunnels came from the hydroelectric
construction industry. After the market rules were established for
electricity generation, valid for private investments, a large number of
Ring Road
The Mario Covas Ring Road is a 170-kilometre
long highway with two carriageways and six
lanes circling the metropolitan region of So
Paulo, the capital and the surrounding area.
It was planned to alleviate the intense traffic
of trucks and other heavy vehicles that used
the citys two urban freeways (Pinheiros and
Tiet), creating constant traffic jams in the
city of So Paulo.
Its construction was divided into four sections
(Figure 12). The first Western Section, with
32 km, has three pairs of tunnels totalling
5,700 metres, with cross-sections between 180
and 222 m2 and covers of up to 180 metres. It
was inaugurated in 2002. The 57-km Southern
Figure 12 Schematic Map of the So Paulo Ring Road,
Section, extending for 43.5 km, should be inaugurated in 2014 and has three tunnels with a total extension of 5,700
metres. Construction on the 44-kilometre Northern Section, which started recently, will have seven twin tunnels,
totalling 13.2 km.
13
So Paulo Metro
The So Paulo Metro has maintained a constant investment
program over the last decade, with several lines under construction,
most of them underground. The works of Yellow Line 4 of the
So Paulo Metro, already inaugurated, were constructed entirely
Photo - herrenknecht-AG
(Metr-SP)
Photo - Metro-SP
14
Photo - Metro-SP
The tunnels between General Osrio and Gvea stations, through Ipanema (Southern Section, Figure 19), densely builtup areas, will be excavated using an EPB TBM 11.53m (Figure 20A).
15
Between Gvea Station and Jardim Ocenico (Western Section), in the sections in rock, the construction process being
employed is conventional D&B (Figure 20B). In Figure 20 B one can see the detail of the diamond-shaped cut of the
tunnel breakthrough in rock on a densely urbanized section.
Photo - Odebrecht
Photo - herrenknecht-AG
Figure 19 - Southern Section of Line 4 of the Rio de Janeiro Metro (Dept. of Transport, Rio-2011)
Figure 20-A. EPB Tunnel Boring Machine mixed face of the Rio Metro. (B) Breakthrough without explosives in hard rock
16
Fortaleza Metro
Porto Maravilha
One of the most important works under development in Rio de Janeiro is Porto Maravilha Project, which intends to
revitalize the port area, reintegrating it to the city (Figure 22) by demolishing viaducts and replacing them with tunnels.
Figure 22 Overview of the location of Porto Maravilha Project, before and after implementation (Rio de Janeiro)
Gastau Tunnel
For Petrobrs to transport natural gas from sea level to
the Paraba Valley, a very economically active region at
an altitude of 700m, the 5-km long Gastau Tunnel was
built using a Double Shield TBM for hard rock for the first
time in Brazil. Figure 23 shows the tunnel boring machine
before starting excavations.
17
3. The future
Brazil has over 42 kilometres of tunnels
under construction. From North to
South, underground work is in progress
to improve infrastructure in Brazils
cities. In addition, work on over 35,000
metres of tunnels is likely to begin soon.
The figures show that Brazil is investing
in infrastructure and that underground
works are now definitively on the list of
viable solutions for meeting the needs
of Brazilian cities. As it already occurs in
other countries, Brazil is awakening to
the fact that underground works are,
for the most part, the most appropriate
solution. Below some of the main tunnel
works under study are mentioned:
Figure 25- The Federal Government Railroad Investment Plan- Source EPL site
The PIL Logistics Investment Program launched at the end of 2012 by the Brazilian Federal Government, presents for
the Railroad modal an investment package of around BRL 90 billion for the construction and adaptation of 11,000 km
of railroads (Figure 25). Table 1 below shows a summary of the number of underground projects that will be part of
the PIL, still under design, therefore with variable values for the minimum and maximum limits of tunnel lengths, but
totalling between 113 and 230 km of tunnels.
18
Ferrovias
Railroads
Ferroanel
Railroad Bypass
Tramo
Section
Trechos em Estudos/Avaliao
PAC em execuo
Malha atual
Current Network
Section
Quantity
Length (m)
Quantity
Length (m)
2000
316
13820
Salvador- Recife
11000
24
14840
30
43740
75
62049
75
75421
6000
17800
17
19860
31
44700
6860
10
10000
15
15000
128
113065
167
230341
TOTAL
Table1: Summary table of the projects of the Brazilian Federal Governments investment plan for railroads with tunnels. Source EPL
South-eastern Region
The South-eastern Region is one of those with most tunnelling works in progress. In the state of Minas Gerais, the
BR-381/MG highway will be duplicated between Governador Valadares and Belo Horizonte. In all, there will be four
tunnels. Two parallel tunnels, each 450 metres in length, one 650-metre tunnel and another 750-metre tunnel. Also in
Minas Gerais, the state capital will build its metro system. The entire Belo Horizonte metro will be underground and
excavated using a shield with around 5 km (initially).
Another example is the BR-040/RJ Highway that winds
its way up the mountains between Rio de Janeiro and
Petrpolis. This will be the largest road tunnel in Brazil, five
kilometres long.
Immersed Tunnel
19
TAV
A high-speed railroad system (HighSpeed Train TAV) is being planned
to operate in Brazils most populous
and economically active region.
In 2008, the total estimated demand
between Rio de Janeiro and So
Photo - EPL web site
Viracopos,
Galeo
airports
Guarulhos
to
their
metropolitan regions.
The system will be designed to operate at a maximum speed of 350 km/h. The total estimated distance between
Campinas and Rio de Janeiro is 511 km, while the distance between So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro is around 412 km.
Based on the route developed, the non-stop journey between the two cities is estimated to last approximately 1 hour
and 33 minutes. Trips with a long-distance, high-speed service between Rio de Janeiro and Campinas will take about
two and a half hours.
The proposed route will have 90.9 km
of tunnels, of which 46.6 kilometres
Photo - Projeto Arco Tiet
Figure 28 - Proposed Arco Tiet Project - So Paulo for burying the freeways
is currently in progress.
Countless other design proposals are still being studied and include underground works for underground railroads
in the central region of So Paulo, several urban tunnels, sanitation tunnels, the So Paulo metropolitan water ring,
railroad connection tunnels in the Serra do Mar mountains and urban recovery by burying the Tiet freeways such as
the Arco Tiet Project, which foresees a huge urban remodelling in the city of So Paulo, based on underground works
(Figure 28).
20
Southern Region
The city of Curitiba, capital of Paran state created bus corridors over 30 years ago a public transport model copied
by more than 80 countries. Now, to further improve city transport, Curitiba is considering building a metro. The total
length has not been defined yet, but what is known is that it will be entirely underground using conventional methods
(Figure 29) and tunnel boring machine.
Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, is also preparing to invest in a metro, with the Line 2 Project, since
the surface train line is considered Line 1. Line 2, with around 18 km, should be partly underground, especially in the
downtown region. Figure 30 shows a partial geological section of the citys downtown region.
21
4. Final Considerations
This document presents a small sample of underground projects in Brazil. The tunnel market in Brazil shows a clear
increase in demand. There is a growing need for urban infrastructures, even though recent economic growth rates
have declined in the face of the global crisis. It is up to Brazilian engineering, with the support and participation of the
international community, to create the means to meet these needs, making it possible for safe and economic works,
using the best design and construction techniques available.
22
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