ABSTRACT
With the rapid development of Shanghai and the city’s underground railway networks, metro construction has become a multidisciplinary and multifaceted project. During construction, regular service of neighboring underground railway lines must remain open. Figure 1 shows the distribution of completed and ongoing excavations for underground railway networks in Shanghai as of 2007. 92% of the metro stations are deeper than 15 m and 31% are over 20 m in depth. Zhao & Yang (2004) have suggested that any excavation, which is over 20 m in depth, will impose severe geotechnical challenges in soft soils. This paper describes the construction of a 40 m deep excavation in the downtown area of Shanghai, China and the analysis of its construction impacts to the environment.
