ABSTRACT

The engagement of professionals by a client should be based on well proven qualifications in the industry with particular experience for the type of tunnel under consideration. Based on industry practice around the world, there has been some confusion regarding the individual roles and responsibilities of civil engineers with typical limited education and experience in geology, and geologists, typically not involved with design and construction supervision, and their overstepping of their respective roles. During tunnel construction, it is common practice for geologists to be responsible for the mapping of the encountered conditions and all observations for each working shift and for the reporting of all information in a project database system. Senior tunneling practitioners are typically civil, geotechnical, or mining engineers who have been involved with many major tunneling projects. The Engineer of Record is responsible that the design, and its conforming construction, meets the functional requirements and overall intended purpose for the tunnel.