THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Department of Civil Engineering

CIVL6083

Practical Design and Construction of

Tunnels in Hong Kong

16 November 2023 1
 Tunnels in Hong Kong

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 Catalogue of Hong Kong Tunnels
http://www.cedd.gov.hk/tc/publications/geo/doc/hktunnel_cat.pdf

• Water supply tunnels

• Road tunnels
• Railway tunnels
• Drainage tunnels
• Sewage tunnels
• Cable tunnels
• Other tunnels

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 Catalogue of Hong Kong Tunnels
• Tunnels built from late 1880s
• More than 500 km of tunnels constructed

Drainage and Water Supply

Sewage Tunnels Tunnels
13% 45%
Road Tunnels Earliest is a 2.2 km water supply
8% tunnel, constructed as part of the
Tai Tam Reservoir Scheme
(completed in 1887)
Railway Tunnels Tunnel construction in HK took
21% off in 1960s
Cable and Other
MTR established in 1975 Tunnels
13%

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 Tunnels Completed/Being Constructed

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 First Beacon Hill Railway Tunnel

Five railway tunnels were built in 1906-1910, including the 2.2 km Beacon Hill rail tunnel

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 Mass Transit (Road and Rail) Tunnels
1967 - First Lion Rock Road Tunnel
(first road tunnel in HK)
1978 - Second Lion Road Tunnel
So far all road tunnels are drill & blast
with mined sections at the portals, due
to large span openings

Major rail tunnels were built in 1975-1986

Other rail tunnels (EHC, LAR, QBCR, TKO (MIS, TWE and ISL)
Extension, DRL, WR, TST Ex, LMC & KSL)

2005 - KCRC Tsim Sha Tsui Extension 1980 - MTR Modified Initial Scheme

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 Water Supply and Drainage Tunnels

1963 - Shek Pik Water Supply Tunnels 2001 - Tai Po to Butterfly Valley Scheme
(17km) (14 km, max. ground cover of 600 m)
(Since 1980s, to increase water supply from
the mainland,
Many sewage and
drainage tunnels Western Aqueduct – 13.8 km
have been built since
Tolo Harbour Aqueduct – 5.4 km)
mid-1980s

2004 - Kai Tak Transfer Scheme (1.5 km)

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 Cable and Gas Tunnels

1994 - HK & China Gas Co. Ltd

1993 - HEC Nam Fung to Chai Braemar Hill Gas Tunnel (2.6 km,
Wan Road (Mount Parker) Cable 3.35 m dia.)
Tunnel (1.5 km, 4.8 m dia.)
First open hard rock TBM drive
in HK

2005 - CLP Kwai Chung Cable

Tunnel (1.1 km)
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Drill and Blast Method
• Used since the late 1880s
• Computer-controlled semi-robotic drilling jumbos have been used since 1998

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 Semi-robotic Jumbos and Shotcreting

Mixed ground, sprayed concrete

lining, forepoles, face bolts

2003 - Route 3 Tai Lam Road Tunnel

First introduced in the Country Park

Section of Tai Lam Tunnel in 1998
computer control, laser survey
accurately pre-sets hole locations
reduces human error, saves setup time
reduces over break, enhances safety
2006 - MTRC/Swire Queensway Subway

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 Drill and Blast Method

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 Drill and Blast Method
Black Powder – earliest known explosives,
it ceased to be used in 1974
Dynamite – Tai Tam Tunnel (1884-1887),
high cost, sensitivity and flammability
ANFO – introduced in HK in 1965

1967 - First Lion Rock Tunnel

Water gel – 1973 (High Island Reservoir)

Emulsion – imported to HK in 1986 in
cartridge form
Site mix is now the most commonly used

1982 - Aberdeen Road Tunnel

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 Drill and Blast Method

1976 - High Island Water Supply Tunnel

1997 - Cheung Tsing Road Tunnel (first 3-lane

road tunnel in HK, 17 m span, 10 m high)

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 Typical Drill and Blast Cycle

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 Blasting Approaches

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 Rock Tunnel Design
• New Austrian Tunnelling Method – First
reported use in the design of the Plover Cove
Water Scheme water tunnel in the mid-1960s
• Sprayed Concrete Lining method –
MTR MIS in the mid-1970s
• Q-system – First reported use in the design of
the Tseung Kwan O (Junk Bay) road tunnel in
the early 1980s, opened in 1990
• IMS rock mass classification system –
Developed locally by Dr Ian McFeat-Smith in
the mid-1980s, was first used for the Western
Aqueduct water supply tunnels
• Computer modelling – UDEC, FLAC, Phase 2
1967 - Plover Cove: Sprayed concrete
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 Temporary Supports for Rock Tunnels
New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM)
– First reported to have been used in the mid-1960s
– Geotechnical inspection and assessment made (supports are provided when needed)
Q-system
– First reported to have been used in early 1980s
– Currently the most commonly used method for drill and blast tunnel works
– A schedule of temporary supports (i.e. support types, unsupported lengths, timing of support
installation, etc., for different rock mass classes) is specified in works contracts

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Tunnel Shields and TBMs
• Tunnel shields, compressed air tunnelling and the Sprayed Concrete Lining (SCL) method
were first used for soft ground tunnel construction in the MTR Modified Initial System (1975-1980);
now replaced by TBM
• Before 1990, more than 70% of the tunnels constructed by drill and blast
• After 1990, 40% of the tunnels constructed by drill and blast, 40% by TBMs
• Pipe-jacked slurry shield TBM
First used in Fanling South Trunk Sewer Tunnel (completed in 1989)
• Open hard rock TBM
First used in HEC Nam Fung Road to Chai Wan Road Tunnel (completed in 1993)
• Open and closed-face compressed air mode Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) TBM
First used in KCRC’s West Rail (completed in 2003)
• Large diameter Mixshield slurry TBM
First used in Kai Tak Transfer Scheme (completed in 2004)
• Variable density slurry TBM (launched in 2016, for the construction of the Causeway Bay Typhoon
Shelter to Admiralty Tunnels of Shatin to Central Link; two-component annulus grout)
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 Tunnel Shields and Cut and Cover Techniques
Tunnel shields
Compressed air tunnelling
Sprayed concrete lining for soft ground

1976 - MTR Modified Initial Scheme Trial

Tunnel: compressed air and shield
Contiguous augered piles
Diaphragm walls
U-sections in pre-augered holes
Anchored king pile walls
Secant pile walls
Interlocking hand-dug caisson walls
Top-down method of excavation 1986 - MTR Island Line: Soft rock roadheader

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 Soil Grouting

1986 - MTR Island Line

‘TAM’ grouting to strengthen ground and reduce water inflow

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 Cut and Cover Techniques

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 Pipe-jacked TBMs
Fanling South Trunk
Sewer, 1989, pipe-jacked
slurry TBM

2005 - Wan Chai East and North Point

Trunk Sewers Pipe Jacking Slurry TBM

2005 - Wan Chai East and North Point

Trunk Sewers Pipe Jacking Station

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 Hard Rock TBMs

1993 - HEC Nam Fung Road to 1994 - HK & China Gas Co. Ltd
Chaiwan Road Cable Tunnel Braemar Hill Tunnel

First open mode hard rock TBM

2006 - CLP Chi Ma Wan Cable Tunnel

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 Retractable TBMs

2001 – MTR Quarry Bay Congestion Relief

Works
Retractable TBMs - pulled back through the
tunnel prior to installation of the lining

2008 – Po Shan Road LPM Drainage Tunnel

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 Retractable TBMs

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 EPB and Slurry TBMs

2003 - KCRC West Rail Kwai Tsing Tunnels Earth

Pressure Balance TBM (1.7 km, 5.5 m dia.)
First use of open and closed compressed air mode
2001 - MTRC Quarry Bay Congestion Relief
EPB TBM in HK
Works (Retractable TBM, 5.3 m dia.,
cutterhead increased to 6.2 m dia.)

First use of large dia. slurry TBM in HK

2004 - Kai Tak Transfer Scheme Mixshield

Slurry TBM (5.17 m dia.)

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 TBM Tunnels

2005 - CLP Tsz Wan Shan Cable 2007- KCRC Lok Ma Chau Spurline
Tunnel Air Plenum Shield Earth Pressure Balance TBM

2007 - KCRC Sheung Shui to Chau Tau Tunnels KCRC Kowloon Southern Link
Ground Freezing for Cross Passages Mixshield Slurry TBM (8m dia.)

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 Summary up to 2005
• Many tunnels were constructed in HK since late 1880s (~500 m/sq km)
• Virtually all water supply tunnels and road tunnels are drill and blast
• NATM in mid-1960s (Plover Cove); Q-system and IMS in 1980s (TKO Road Tunnel /
Western Aqueduct water supply tunnels)
• MTR tunnel construction started since 1975; new techniques introduced (25 m deep
excavation, compressed air shields and t-a-m grouting trials)
• Pipe-jacked slurry TBM used in 1989 (Fanling South trunk sewer tunnel)
• First open hard rock TBM used in 1993 (5.5 km cable tunnel); also 7 km water tunnel
• Full-face blasting for first 3-lane road tunnel in 1997 (Cheung Tsing Tunnel)
• Innovative retractable TBMs used in 2001 (MTR Quarry Bay Extension)
• First open and closed mode EPB TBM used in 2003 (KCRC’s West Rail 5.5 km Tai
Lam Tunnel - longest rail tunnel - and 1.7 km Kwai Tsing Tunnel)
• First large diameter Mixshield TBM used in 2004 (1.5 km Kai Tak Transfer Scheme)
• Air plenum shield used in 2005 (0.65 km cable tunnel)

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 TKO-Lam Tin (2.6 km)

T2 (3 km)
CKR (3.9 km)

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 Some of the Major Tunnel Projects in HK

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 Tunnel Intensity (Wai, 2010)
log10
1000.00

100.00
Tunnel length (m) / Area (km2)

10.00

1.00

0.10

0.01

0.00
Florida New York California Sydney Taipei London Tokyo Hong Kong

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32
 Year 2020 Aug 2023

Road Tunnels 67.7 km 75.0 km Added Lam Tin, So Kwun Wat Link Road, and Tai
Lam Chung Tunnel

Railway Tunnels 172.3 km 184.3 km Added Tung Chung Line Extension, Northern Link

Water Supply Tunnels 214.1 km Unchanged

Drainage / Sewage Tunnels 108.1 km Unchanged

Cable / Other Tunnels 62.0 km Unchanged

Total Length 643.5 km

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 Opportunities (for Project Managers, Designers,
Contractors, Suppliers and Specialists)
Opportunities to refine existing design methods and construction technology
and make use of methods and technology not previously used in Hong Kong
• Special investigation / ground characterisation techniques – HATS Stage 2A
• Electronic detonators – West Island Line
• Raise boring – Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel
• New TBM technologies – West Island Line (Tunnel Dismantling Machine) and
Shatin to Central Link (variable density slurry TBM)
• Hyperbaric intervention – Lai Chi Kok Drainage Tunnel
• Ground freezing – West Island Line
• Rock fissure grouting – HATS Stage 2A
• Cut and cover techniques – silent piling, limit state partial factor method of design
• Advanced analytical tools
• Systematic risk management, observational approach
• TBM instrumentation – West Island Line (MOBYDIC: TBM cutter instrumentation)
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 Political, Social and Environmental Challenges
• Expectation of short implementation programmes, tight cost control, and no
delay to project completion
• Increasingly risk averse, e.g. concern about location of explosives magazine
sites and blasting safety
• Intolerant of inconvenience and disruption caused by construction, e.g.
blasting, road closures and construction traffic, and environmental impacts
• “Nimby (not-in-my-backyard)” syndrome can thwart progress and diminish
value of the project to the community as a whole
• Call for innovative solutions and effective public engagement

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Programme, Human Resources and Technical Challenges
• Many concurrent major tunnel projects, with fast-track programmes
• Shortage of qualified and suitably experienced geotechnical and tunnel
engineers, blasting competent persons and supervisors, shot firers, and
site supervisory staff with tunnel works experience
• Tunnel works through poor / difficult ground and close to densely
developed urban areas
• Ambitious programmes, difficult ground and scarcity of experienced
personnel could result in higher risk to life and property and timely
project completion
• The logistics of delivering explosives to concurrent projects and
possible use of site magazines, all with multiple blast faces, without
compromising security and safety, is a particular challenge

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 Distribution of Geological Faults in Hong Kong

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 Technical Challenges
• To find innovative and cost effective methods for identifying problematic ground
above and ahead of the tunnel face, and for design and construction, both before
tender and during tunnelling
• To characterise and model the hydrogeological and mechanical behaviour of
fractured rock masses
• To manage the risk of face instability and excessive ground movement
• To implement an effective monitoring system to manage the risk of water inflow
and excessive ground movement
• To achieve cost effective and robust design to deal with the geotechnical risks and
uncertainties, without causing delay to the programme
• To carry out reliable modelling and assessment of multiple tunnel-tunnel and
tunnel-foundation interaction and manage the risk of damage due to loss or
ineffective of ground support
• To find innovative solutions to control the ground vibrations and air overpressures
due to blasting near sensitive facilities
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 Horizontal Boreholes and Directional Coring
Horizontal boreholes used in the early 1980s: Western Aqueduct Tunnels, Lei Yue Mun
Portal of MTR Island Line, Pak Kong to TKO Tunnel

Wedge/bent subframe to control drillhole direction: Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Route 3 Tai Lam
Tunnel, HATS Stage I

Directional coring with a steerable drilling head to control hole direction: Eagle’s Nest
(2004/2005), Po Shan, Tsuen Wan Drainage, HATS Stage 2A (5 km, wireline-operated core
barrel, 2008)
Spearhead

Landing ring
On board electronic survey tool

Muleshoe
CORE BARREL

Packer pads and locking pin

INNER TUBE

Adjustable bend/eccentric housing Drill bit

Diamond drill bit

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 Horizontal Boreholes and Directional Coring

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 Order of Cost of Rock Coring

Vertical Rock Coring ~ HK$2,200 per m

Inclined Rock Coring ~ HK$2,400 per m

Horizontal Directional Coring ~ HK$10,000 per m

(about HK$5M for a 500 m HDC, no standard rate)

2023 Prices

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 Detonators

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 Deck Blasting

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Temporary Supports and Groundwater inflow Control
(Through poor quality rock mass/ Sensitive facilities affected)

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 Raise Boring Method
Used in the MTR Quarry Bay Improvement Works project (completed in 1997)
Used to construct two glory holes at Anderson Road Quarry (in 1998)
Used to construct 23 shafts for the Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnels project (completed in 2012)

Dragages - Nishimatsu Joint Venture

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 Innovative TBM Technologies
Proprietary TBM cutter instrumentation system (MOBYDIC)
Tunnel Dismantling Machine for removal of existing tunnel lining

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 TBM Tunnels Ground Treatment

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 TBM Compressed Air Intervention (CAI)

• CAIs are often required for maintenance and repair at the TBM cutterhead
• Clause 12.4 of Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Work in Compressed Air)
Regulations states that “Except in the case of an emergency, no person shall be
employed in compressed air at a pressure exceeding 50 pounds per square inch
[3.45 bars] without permission from the Commissioner of Labour”
• In the Lai Chi Kok Transfer Scheme hyperbaric works, the authority approved the
use of the Hamburg Oxygen Decompression Tables. The CAIs were successfully
completed with pressures up to 4.2 bars

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 Artificial Ground Freezing

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 Artificial Ground Freezing

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 Artificial Ground Freezing

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 Rock Grouting

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 Rock Grouting

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 Cut and Cover Techniques

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 Instrumentation / Monitoring
Instrumentation and monitoring comprise
- Pre-condition survey
- 24-hour real-time automatic monitoring - IoT sensors +5G
- Data management system
- Alert, Action and Alarm limits
The systems could
(a) provide data for effective geotechnical risk management,
(b) provide data for performance review of the design, and
(c) facilitate implementation of the Observational Method, if adopted
For government projects, the data collected are also for knowledge management

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 TBM Technologies

Data recording
Sonic / seismic probing in soft ground ?

Probing ahead and pre-

excavation grouting
Sand lenses in front of cutterhead

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 Knowledge Management and Technical Guidance
Since 2005, GEO has been consolidating knowledge and developing technical guidance to
facilitate geotechnical control of tunnel works.
Technical guidelines & reference documents:
(a) Catalogue of Hong Kong Tunnels
(b) Catalogue of Notable Tunnel Failure Case Histories - unpublished
(c) GEO Technical Guidance Note (TGN) No. 24 “Site Investigation for Tunnel Works (2009)
subsumed in Geoguide 2
(d) GEO Technical Guidance Note (TGN) No. 25 “Geotechnical Risk Management for Tunnel
Works” (2009)
(e) GEO Technical Guidance Note (TGN) No. 28 “New Control Framework for Soil Slopes
Subjected to Blasting Vibrations” (2010)
(f) GEO Report No. 232 “Prediction and Control of Air Overpressure from Blasting in Hong
Kong” (2008)
(g) GEO Report No. 249 “Ground Control for Slurry TBM Tunnelling” (2009)
(h) GEO Report No. 298 “Ground Control for EPB TBM Tunnelling” (2014)
(i) Geoguide 4 Guide to Cavern Engineering (major revision) (2018)

See “Key References Related to Tunnel Works in Hong Kong” file.

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 Slurry and Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) TBMs

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 Knowledge Management and Technical Guidance
Mines Division Guidance Notes
Accessible from the CEDD website:
http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/services/mines_quarries/mqd_mdgn.html
Others, e.g. proceedings of seminars and conferences on tunnel engineering
(HKIE Geotechnical Division, IOM3, AGS(HK)), Tunnel Construction
Guidelines and Ground Investigation Guidelines published by AGS(HK)
Public works policy requires the project departments to submit to GEO the
tunnel design and GI and performance monitoring data, for knowledge
management

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 Sizeable Tunnels in Hong Kong

17.6 m

TCK Link

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 Mega TBM (first HK road tunnel with TBM)
TCK Link

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 Mega TBMs

TCK Link

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 Naming of TBMs
A TBM is often given a name (e.g. a heroine, legendary woman, or a dragon) to bring good luck for the project ahead

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 Naming of TBMs

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Mega TBM for Tuen Mun – Chep Lap Kok Link

Qin Liangyu 秦良玉

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 Variable Density Slurry TBM – SCL

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 Don’t Forget

Useful List of Publications in The Catalogue of Hong Kong Tunnels

These publications contain data and experience

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