Haunted by the Past

by Victoria Frerichs, Proj. Coordinator; Kansas City Water and Pollution Control Dept., Kansas City, MO,
David F. Egger, (M.ASCE), Proj. Engr.; Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1993, Vol. 63, Issue 9, Pg. 69-71


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Given the legacy of the construction of the Missouri Valley Water Tunnel in the 1920s�eight deaths and numerous injuries�it's no wonder that safety was foremost in the minds of the designers of the tunnel's successor, Kansas City, Mo.'s, recently completed Trans-Missouri River Tunnel. Construction diaries and other records from the construction of the first tunnel, along with recent borings and field tests, provided a picture of the difficult subsurface conditions the tunnelers would face. To keep the potential for mishaps to a minimum, the new tunnel's designers, Black & Veatch, Kansas City, included a number of stringent safety specifications in the bid documents and subjected potential contractors to a thorough prequalifying process. The result, despite gas pockets, oil seeping through the walls and fragile clayey shales, was a project that was completed with no construction-related fatalities.

Subject Headings: Construction management | Tunnels | Occupational safety | Field tests | Water tunnels | Walls | Urban areas

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