By Margaret M. Mitchell
So often the projects covered in Civil Engineering focus on aboveground construction — from supertall buildings to photogenic bridges and everything in between. To be sure, structures like these need some space below to make them stable above, but the result is primarily observable. This issue, however, we’re going beneath the surface to explore the challenges and triumphs of the dangerous, difficult world of underground engineering.
First in the series is “Engineering under Snow and Ice” by Robert L. Reid. In cold climates, projects can be complicated enough aboveground, but tackling the subsurface conditions takes us to a whole new level. Facing obstacles that range from unstable soils to permafrost hard enough to crush foundation piles, civil engineers are designing sound infrastructure below the ground in the Northern Hemisphere’s cold regions.
Next up is “Subterranean Seismic Design.” Constructing seismically resilient underground infrastructure — especially for transit — is a labyrinthine process. Author Ian Chaney, P.E., details the intricate complexities of building seismically resilient underground tunnels and rail networks in urban areas, namely San Francisco and Los Angeles.
For our next stop we travel “across the pond” to London and explore the Elizabeth line, described by author Robert L. Reid as “the first heavy rail system to pass beneath the British capital and the largest expansion of rail capacity there in 70 years.” What did it take to tunnel through the earth, avoiding existing subway lines, building foundations, and utilities? Find out in “Heavy Rail beneath London.”
We then move away from transit to a belowground stormwater storage facility in “Flood Fixer.” Located beneath a portion of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, the structure — the first of its kind in Minnesota — can hold about 4.5 million gal. of stormwater. Authors Tom Pullen, P.G., and Michael Haggerty, P.E., recount in detail the path engineers took to delve below the earth and carve out this unique structure.
It takes not only technical mastery but also a daring spirit not to be daunted by the extreme conditions engineers faced in these extraordinary underground efforts. I hope you find their adventures as compelling as I did.
Next issue we look at artificial intelligence and how it’s changing the civil engineering landscape — and not just in the ways you might expect.
Margaret M. Mitchell is the editor in chief of Civil Engineering.
This article first appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Civil Engineering as “Beneath the Surface.”
