2024 Schnabel Engineering Lecture: Underground Construction: Development and Delivery of Complex Infrastructure Projects

Abstract

Civil engineering projects are often characterized primarily in financial terms: how many thousands, millions, or billions of dollars do they cost? But this metric can be misleading for underground construction, which typically has a greater “complexity per dollar” than many other types of infrastructure projects. Recognizing complexity—and not simply cost— as an important qualitative aspect of project planning helps ensure the right resources and mindsets are in place to develop and deliver these projects. With illustrations from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion—which incorporates two 46-foot-diameter bored tunnels as part of Virginia’s largest highway construction project—this presentation will explore the nature of project complexity, particularly the range of skills and combination of technical disciplines necessary to address challenges that have no textbook solution. The presentation will also outline how students and early-career professionals can build the mindset and capabilities to operate successfully in the realm of complex projects.