Special Features of Scheduling Tunnel Works

The scheduling of tunnelling works has a few special features and these are discussed in this chapter together with the general procedure. A road or rail tunnel is always a complex structure, so its uninterrupted construction demands particularly careful planning of all activities. For complicated construction projects, scheduling also undergoes a development process, which means that it is not possible at the start to assemble all the works that will be required and the associated durations of the actual construction works. The planning tools are the bar chart (Gantt chart), precedence diagram or critical path diagram and the time-distance diagram. It is important to continuously check the actual progress of the tunnel drive against the intended progress and against contractually agreed deadlines, and also to determine the actual cost position on the site. The chapter presents examples of construction schedules for road tunnels, rail tunnels, and city tunnels.