ABSTRACT
Dutch experience of using TBM tunnelling is relatively recent. The first TBM tunnel was constructed in the Netherlands between 1997 and 1999 (the Second Heinenoord Tunnel). In the early 1990s, Dutch engineers were uncertain whether the soft saturated soil in the western parts of their country was suitable for TBM tunnelling. The decision was therefore taken to include a measurement programme in the first tunnelling projects. An overview of this programme and some results are presented by Bakker & Bezuijen (2008). In the programme, results from the measurements were predicted using existing calculation models. The measurement results were analysed at a later date, and discrepancies with the predictions were explained where possible.
