Meet the Virtual Tunnel Team
Established to develop, promote, and advance road tunnel engineering principles, technologies, and maintenance practices in the United States, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Virtual Team on Road Tunnels (VTRT) is a new expert information source on these challenging structures. Not only are tunnels the most expensive type of transportation structure to build, but they can also present complicated design and construction issues.
The team includes road tunnel experts from FHWA and State highway agencies. To provide guidance and promote tunnel knowledge, the team has developed a Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/tunnel/. The site features a national database of tunnel research projects and useful tunnel-related publications, including the Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Inspection Manual and Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Maintenance and Rehabilitation Manual. Jointly produced by FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration, the manuals outline the first nationwide tunnel management system, providing guidelines for inspecting, maintaining, and rehabilitating highway and rail transit tunnels. Additional publications available on the Web site include FHWA’s Prevention and Control of Highway Tunnel Fires and Recommendations of the Group of Experts on Safety in Road Tunnels, published by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
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The Virtual Team's Web site includes links to other tunnel-related sites, such as one for the Central Artery/Tunnel project in Boston, MA. |
The Web site includes an “Ask the Expert” feature, where visitors can submit inquiries on tunnel-related topics. An archive of all questions submitted to date provides a valuable reference source for tunnel engineers, industry professionals, engineering students, and others.
Visitors can also find links to tunnel-related Web sites, including ones for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Transportation Research Board’s A2C04 Committee on Tunnels and Underground Structures.
The team is currently working on preparation of a National Highway Institute training course for tunnel engineering, which will serve as an introduction to procedures and techniques for tunnel design, construction, inspection, and maintenance/rehabilitation.
Beyond providing guidance and information, additional goals of the team include fostering the creation of an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ subcommittee on tunnels.
To learn more about road tunnel engineering or the VTRT, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/tunnel/ or contact Jesus Rohena at 410-962-2542 (email: jesus.rohena@fhwa.dot.gov).
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FHWA’s Office of Bridge Technology has created virtual teams to provide technical assistance and act as a focal point for current and forthcoming highway bridge and structure initiatives, information, and technical materials. The teams extend FHWA’s in-house expertise with a wealth of science and engineering knowledge and experience from State highway agencies, industry, academia, and others.
Additional structural virtual teams that have been established
to date include ones for high-performance steel, high-performance concrete (see September 2003 Focus), earthquake engineering, high strength bolts, fiber-reinforced polymers, and segmental concrete bridge technology (see December 2003 Focus). To learn more, visit the following Web sites. Also in the works are teams for cable-stay bridges, load and resistance factor design, accelerated bridge construction, and bridge performance and health monitoring.
Fiber-Reinforced Polymer
Composites—www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/frp/index.cfm
High-Performance Steel—www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/hps.htm
High Strength Bolts—www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/bolts.htm
Earthquake Engineering—www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/seismic/index.htm
High-Performance Concrete—knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/cops/hpcx.nsf/home
Segmental Concrete Bridge Technology—www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/segmental
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