An analysis of utility tunnel viability in urban areas

Urban utilities are overcrowding underground space. Therefore, future sustainable underground strategies will consist of the ability to reduce the use of traditional trenching. During the last century, there was an increasing interest in utility tunnels for urban areas as a problem-solving technique to avoid congestion of the street subsurface. Utility tunnels or utilidors are joint-use underground facilities that may contain multiple utilities such as water, sewerage, gas, electrical power, telephone, and central heating in various combinations or in some cases all together. The key advantage of utilidors is the substantially lower environmental impact when compared with trenching alternatives. Their construction presents no new problems of an engineering nature. However, implementing these subsurface tunnels is retarded most by first-cost, compatibility, and liability problems. These underground facilities are highly complex and difficult to manage because of synergistic effects. Utility tunnels, as a major capital investment in urban development, should be considered in the broad context of the urban planning strategy. This research work has focused on utility tunnel feasibility and its practical application in urban areas.