Micro Tunnel Construction Crossing Underneath a Rail Track – A Case Study
Gamal Abdelaziz, Fernando Gonzalez
In the proceedings of: GeoManitoba 2025: 78th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 9th Canadian Permafrost ConferenceSession: Pipelines & Buried Structures
ABSTRACT: The Region of Peel required the replacement of an existing water main located along Mount Hope Road near the Town of Caledon, Ontario. The new water main was designed to be installed beneath the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail line. The invert elevation of the water main was approximately 2.8 meters below the ground surface. The project anticipated that the new water main would traverse native cohesionless soils and organic clay. To address these subsurface conditions, microtunneling was chosen as the installation method. A 900mm ID microtunnel boring machine (MTBM) was utilized to install 45 meters of reinforced concrete microtunneling casing pipe beneath the CPKC rail right-of-way. The casing was installed using the ‘jack and bore’ trenchless technology, ensuring minimal surface disruption and maintaining the integrity of the rail infrastructure during construction. This approach provided an efficient and reliable solution for the challenging subsurface and site conditions.
RÉSUMÉ: La Région de Peel devait remplacer une conduite d’eau principale existante située le long de la route Mount Hope, près de la ville de Caledon, en Ontario. La nouvelle conduite d’eau principale devait être installée sous la voie ferrée de la compagnie Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). La cote d’intrados de la conduite se situait à environ 2,8 mètres sous la surface du sol. Le projet prévoyait que la nouvelle conduite traverserait des sols natifs non cohésifs et de l’argile organique. Pour tenir compte de ces conditions de sol, la méthode du microtunnelage a été choisie pour l’installation. Une microforeuse à tunnelier (MTBM) de 900 mm de diamètre intérieur a été utilisée pour poser 45 mètres de conduite de chemisage en béton armé sous l’emprise ferroviaire du CPKC. La conduite de chemisage a été posée à l’aide de la technologie sans tranchée « jack and bore », ce qui a permis de minimiser la perturbation en surface et de préserver l’intégrité de l’infrastructure ferroviaire pendant les travaux. Cette approche a fourni une solution efficace et fiable face aux conditions géotechniques et aux contraintes du site.
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Abdelaziz, Gamal, Gonzalez, Fernando (2025) Micro Tunnel Construction Crossing Underneath a Rail Track – A Case Study in GEO2025. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
@inproceedings{Abdelaziz_GEO2025_380,
author = {{Abdelaziz, Gamal}, {Gonzalez, Fernando}}
title = {Micro Tunnel Construction Crossing Underneath a Rail Track – A Case Study }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 78th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 9th Canadian Permafrost Conference}
year = {2025}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }
title = {Micro Tunnel Construction Crossing Underneath a Rail Track – A Case Study }
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 78th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 9th Canadian Permafrost Conference}
year = {2025}
organization = {The Canadian Geotechnical Society},
address = {Ottawa, Canada} }