CONSTRUCTION METHODS FOR ELEVATED AND UNDERGROUND

SECTION
REPORT

Submitted in partial fulfillment for Continuous Assessment Exam 2

for

HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES

By

SHUBHANKAR DUTTA

ROLL - 27901321012

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

IDEAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING

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September - 2023

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my “METRO

SYSTEM & ENGINEERING” subject teacher "Mrs. Sangita
Debnath" who gave me the opportunity to do this wonderful report of
"CONSTRUCTION METHODS FOR ELEVATED AND
UNDERGROUND SECTION ", Who also helped me in completing
my report .I came to know about so many new things I am really
thankful to her.

Shubhankar Dutta
Date – 4/09/2023

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

No. TITLE Page

No.
1 ABSTRACT 4
2 INTRODUCTION 5
3 CONSTRUCTION METHOD OF 6
UNDERGROUND SECTION
4 CONSTRUCTION METHOD OF 11
ELEVATED SECTION

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 1. ABSTRACT

A metro system is a railway transport system in an urban zone with a high limit, recurrence
and the evaluation partition from other activity. Metro System is utilized as a part of urban
communities, agglomerations, and metropolitan regions to transport huge quantities of
individuals. A hoisted metro system is more favoured sort of metro system because of
simplicity of development furthermore it makes urban regions more open with no
development trouble. An elevated metro system is more preferred type of metro system due
to ease of construction and also it makes urban areas more accessible without any
construction difficulty. An elevated metro system has two major elements pier and box girder.
The present study focuses on two major elements, pier and box girder, of an elevated metro
structural system. Conventionally the pier of a metro bridge is designed using a force based
approach. Underground construction has been around for thousands of years, mostly
developed through mining and more recently through transport, housing and commercial
industries. The Channel Tunnel, London Underground, British Library, and various shopping
centre are all examples of underground construction. The report summarizes the challenges
and considerations during planning, execution and commissioning of underground and
elevated sections of metro. The work of fixing the alignment starts with fixing up the location
of the station box, availability of the land in the close proximity of major origin/destination
points or nodes which are dense passenger traffic junction is important. There are the
instances when separate vacant land at these locations is not available, and in all such cases
stations are planned below roads. Consideration of buildings nearby, no. of trees affected,
possible traffic diversion, soil strata, utilities, access to the residents nearby are few points
which are kept in mind the location of the station. 

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 2. INTRODUCTION

The underground construction standard covers many topics of concern to those who work in
the challenging environment of underground construction. A sampling of items covered by
the standard includes requirements for safe access and egress routes, employee training in
hazard recognition, a “check-in or check-out” procedure, and emergency procedures. This
booklet summarizes all requirements of the
standard. The standard provides some
flexibility in methods to control workplace
hazards in underground construction as long as
appropriate precautions are taken to protect
workers in a variety of situations. OSHA
requires that a “competent person” be
responsible for carrying out several
requirements of the underground construction
regulations. Situations that require intervention by a “competent person” are identified in the
following sections. An elevated metro system has two major components pier and box girder.
A typical elevated metro bridge Viaduct or box girder of a metro bridge requires pier to
support the each span of the bridge and
station structures. Piers are constructed in
various cross sectional shapes like
cylindrical, elliptical, square, rectangular
and other forms. The piers considered for
the present study are in rectangular cross
section and it is located under station
structure. Most of viaduct structures are being constructed using pre-cast segments installed
using the underslung girder technique. The advantage of this technique is that it enables the
viaduct deck spans to be erected very rapidly on site with minimal disruption to traffic below.
Viaducts are essentially multi-spanned bridges crossing over roads or rivers or valleys. On the
Gautrain project, viaducts typically span in the order of 40 to 50m between piers.

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 3. CONSTRUCTION METHOD OF UNDERGROUND SECTION

The underground station has been proposed as cut and cover with top-down method. The
diaphragm walls for such station constructions would be 80 to 100 cm. thick and will
function as a permanent side wall of the station. It is, therefore, necessary to construct the
diaphragm walls absolutely watertight and with the required concrete strength. By resorting
to top-down method the surface could be restored quickly and further excavations and
construction of the station will not hamper the surface activity.

METHODOLOGY - Many Department of Defense hardened structures such as those found

at munitions storage facilities are constructed above ground, some with earth cover. An
example of such a structure is the standard storage igloo. These facilities are often quite old,
and the set of requirements on which they were designed and built differ from those
considered important today. These facilities were based mainly on safety, with less attention
given to security, Survivability, and operational and environmental considerations. In Europe,
where security and survivability are important in facility design and construction, many
NATO military facilities are built either underground or in the sides of mountains. Many of
the installations are tunneled into rock in the mountainsides which is relatively fault-free and
is not prone to flooding during construction., Often, the rock is so strong that the tunnel walls
do not have to be lined. The Scandinavian countries have built many underground or
mountainside structures for civil defense. The mountainous terrain provides a very hardened
personnel shelter compared to what could be built above ground. In the United States, under
the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, much work, including a great
deal by the Corps of Engineers, has been done recently to design underground or earth-
covered key worker shelters. The earth covering provides both over pressure hardening and
radiation and thermal protection. Several options are available for hardened facility
construction. Typically, above ground structures are made of thick reinforced concrete and
can provide only limited protection. The structure can be shallow-buried, using the cut and
cover construction method. This removes the structure from the surface, so it is not directly
exposed to threats; however, it is still vulnerable to penetrating weapons and bombs.
Tunneling, down.(shaft) or into mountainsides can provide a very safe environment, but
multiple entrances must be provided. Also, the local geology is an important factor. Deep

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excavation, another option, which has excellent security and survivability potential, but
which requires multiple entrances. Problems encountered with deep excavations include
shoring, water table, and bedrock level.

CONSTRUCTION METHODS - Useful references on underground construction

technology were identified from journals and government reports. Report subjects included
methods of excavation, tunneling, underground structure lining, waterproofing practices,
security, survivability, and cost and energy considerations. Much of the literature presented
application of different construction methods to specific structures, such as civil’ defense
shelters, subways, tunnels, schools, and libraries.The papers surveyed discuss underground
construction methods used in the United States and 11 other countries..

Cut & Cover method - This method is adopted generally in locations with high density of
buildings and population to avoid minimal disturbance to the adjacent structures. In
saturated soil conditions, secant pile walls are commonly used to create shafts for stations .
A trench is excavated for the construction of a box frame structure which is backfilled
subsequently. To reduce traffic disruption, a temporary decking will be provided over the
excavated trench immediately after the first layer of excavation is done. Subsequently, the
temporary decking will be removed and the original surface will be restored. Before the
excavation starts, shoring i.e. temporary excavation support walls are installed. The shoring
is fixed/supported on excavated soil with soil anchors to support the deep excavated sides of
the cut to control settlement and soil failure. Slurry walls or cased secant piles are used
generally for shoring. When the desired depth is reached, concrete is pumped to the bottom
of trench which pushed out the slurry. The Bentonite is a special clay with high water
absorption property which expands in presence of water. Bentonite grout also acts as the
necessary waterproofing agent. Various combinations of support system are employed in
the construction of large underground projects. Generally, the roof/deck slab is constructed
first followed by the construction of piles or caissons in sub-structure. The lower slabs are
constructed after the subsequent excavation. Typically, this underground construction
method is most suitable for a congested area with a requirement of minimum disruption.
The major demerit of cut and cover method is the requirement of large working area. This
method is often required in limited construction space as in the case of congested urban

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cities. The operational problem associated with this system is conflict between the location
and arrangement of its support structure with the excavation and construction of the
permanent structure. One solution which can reduce the inconvenience is to use tieback
systems which do not conflict with the area to be constructed

Conventional Bottom-Up Construction - In the conventional Bottom-Up approach, the

basement piles and diaphragm walls are casted and constructed before the excavation of the
earmarked portion up to the desired depth. The strutting/bracing system are installed to
support the retaining walls of the enclosed area up to the desired depth followed with
progressive excavation. Corresponding to the depth of excavation, the strutting/bracing
systems may require more than one anchorage/supports to resist lateral overturning
moments due to earth and/or ground water pressure on the exterior retaining walls. The
process of construction of foundation system generally a MAT/Raft system follows the
complete installation of support system and excavation up to the founding level and
thereafter upward construction methodology involves the construction of Columns and floor
slabs for various levels of basements. Thereafter, construction of superstructure of the
underground station follows general practice . The excavated trench is backfilled with soil
after the construction of top roof slab is over and the surface is restored as per requirement.
Following series of sketches shows the sequence of construction activities in bottom-up
construction.

Top Down Construction - Contrary to the Bottom-Up construction method, the principle of
Top-Down construction method is to construct moulds first and construct diapharm/floor
slabs after each successive excavations. The floor slabs are permanent structures generally
made up of reinforced cement concrete, which along with propped cantilever retaining walls
replace temporary steel struts used to counteract the earth pressure from the back of the
retaining wall. In this manner, the underground station structure is completed after the
completion of the excavation. The sequence of construction activities of the underground
station structure is from the top to the bottom and is opposite to the conventional
foundation eccentric construction methods. For these reasons, this method is therefore
called the top-down construction method. The floor slabs constructed in the top-down
construction method are designed for heavier soil loads than the steel struts used in
conventional methods. In addition, the superstructure, which is constructed simultaneously

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during excavation, puts more weight on the column. Thus, the bearing capacity of the
column has to be considered. As a result, deep foundations like piles are generally used for
the top-down construction method. Another advantage with Top-Down method is the
minimization of various construction related issues like slushy ground, continuous
dewatering and problems related to bad weather etc. However, few disadvantages are also
associated with Top-Down method related to the requirements of skilled work force and
higher execution costs. The ground level suspended slab is cast on the ground, connecting it
with the diaphragm wall and the pre-casted columns. First, the ground surface is leveled and
blinding concrete is poured over. On top, generally ply wood formwork is placed followed by
steel reinforcement. Since the slabs act as struts to perimeter wall, slabs should be
connected to perimeter wall. The reinforcement in top section of perimeter wall is anchored
and lapped with reinforcement of the slab. Opening is left in the slab for the movement of
materials and machinery to construct the first basement slab. (a) diaphragm walls (b) piles
and steel stanchion (c) upper basement floor (d) first basement and superstructure (e)
second basement (f) final basement raft.

Box Pushing Trenchless Technique - Box pushing technique is a well-established engineering

& construction method for culverts or tunnels under existing constructions, rail
embankments, waterways to accommodate road or rail traffic. It is a well proven method to
overcome or circumventing geophysical impediments or obstructions in order to build road
or rail networks. Box Pushing trenchless technique is a innovative tunneling method for
construction of shallow rectangular tunnels beneath critical facilities such as functional
railways, major highways and airport runways without disruption of the traffic services or
relocating/realignment of them temporarily as in the case of open excavations for cut and
cover construction. Originally developed from pipe jacking technology, jacked box pushing
tunneling is generally adopted in soft soils at shallow depths and for relatively shorter
lengths, whereas Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for tunneling would not be economical for
shorter lengths. The box pushing process starts with the excavation of a launching sink pit
where a secure backdrop is constructed to facilitate the hydraulic jacking rams that will push
the precast concrete box sections into place. These large concrete boxes are constructed on
site to suit the size of the tunnel. The boxes are then hydraulically jacked into position in

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alignment with proposed tunnel with an excavator cutting out the soil at the interface and
removing it for disposal.

Conventional underground tunnelling - After the trench has been backfilled, but before any
surface construction begins, certain plastic conduits can become oval-shaped, pierced or
broken. Accordingly, it is necessary to check for duct deflection before any cable installation.
Each duct should allow the passage of a test mandrel consisting of a rod carrying a solid disc.
The test mandrel is sized to be smaller than the inside diameter of the duct so that some
deflection of the ducts is allowable. The test mandrel can be attached to a pneumatic duct
cleaner as shown in Figure 1a. It is possible to perform this operation by simply blowing it
inside the duct; it will reach the other end of the duct if no restrictions or obstructions are
present. Ducts may also be examined by test mandrels as shown in Figure 1b. A test mandrel
is pulled through the duct by means of a rope or cable. If the mandrel can be pulled through
the tested section, then the section is considered acceptable. If deformations are present
and the mandrel gets stuck, the blocked area of conduit can be repaired. The mandrel,
however, would have difficulties in checking multiple defective parts if it became stuck as a
result of the first defect and could not continue its passage through the duct. In this case,
the mandrel is pulled out, and the test is repeated using a smaller one. If the mandrel
cannot be pulled through the entire length of the duct, there are several possible reasons.
Firstly, the duct may have deflected beyond what the mandrel will tolerate. Secondly, the
mandrel may have become caught in the sleeve due to a tight radius.

Pipe jacking method - Pipe Jacking is a method of tunnel construction where hydraulic jacks
are used to push specially made pipes through the ground behind a tunnel boring machine
or shield. This technique is commonly used to create tunnels under existing structures, such
as roads or railways. Tunnels constructed by pipe jacking are normally small diameter
tunnels with a maximum size of around 2.4m.

Box jacking method - Box jacking is similar to pipe jacking, but instead of jacking tubes, a
box shaped tunnel is used. Jacked boxes can be a much larger span than a pipe jack with the
span of some box jacks in excess of 20m. A cutting head is normally used at the front of the
box being jacked and excavation is normally by excavator from within the box.

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 4. CONSTRUCTION METHOD OF ELEVATED SECTION

A metro system is an electric passenger railway transport system in an urban area with a high
capacity, frequency and the grade separation from other traffic. Metro System is used in
cities, agglomerations, and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people at high
frequency. The grade separation allows the
metro to move freely, with fewer
interruptions and at higher overall speeds.
Metro systems are typically located in
underground tunnels, elevated viaducts
above street level or grade separated at
ground level. An elevated metro structural
system is more preferred one due to ease
of construction and also it makes urban
areas more accessible without any construction difficulty. An elevated metro structural
system has the advantage that it is more economic than an underground metro system and the
construction time is much shorter. An elevated metro system has two major components pier
and box girder. Viaduct or box girder of a metro bridge requires pier to support the each span
of the bridge and station structures. Piers are constructed in various cross sectional shapes
like cylindrical, elliptical, square, rectangular and other forms. The piers considered for the
present study are in rectangular cross section and it is located under station structure.

Elevated Section - Choice of Superstructure - The choice of superstructure has to be made

keeping in view the ease of constructability and the maximum standardization of the
formwork for a wide span ranges. The segmental construction has been chosen mainly due to
the following advantages: • Segmental construction is an efficient and economical method for
a large range of span lengths and types of structures. Structures with sharp curves and
variable super elevation can be easily accommodated. • Segmental construction permits a
reduction of construction time as segments may be manufactured while substructure work
proceeds and assembled rapidly thereafter. • Segmental construction protects the environment
as only space required for foundation and sub-station is required at site. The superstructure is
manufactured at a place away from busy areas and placement of superstructure is done with
the system erected from piers at heights. • Segments are easy to stack in the casting

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yard/stacking yard in more than one layer, thereby saving in requirement of space. • It is
easier to transport smaller segments by road trailers on city roads. • It is easy to incorporate
last minute changes in span configuration if the site situation so warrants. • Interference to the
traffic during construction is significantly reduced. • Segmental construction contributes
towards aesthetically pleasing structures and good finishes. • The overall labour requirement
is less than that for conventional methods. • Better quality control is possible in the casting
yard. • During construction, the technique shows an exceptionally high record of safety.

Types of Superstructures for Elevated Section - (A) Pre-cast segmental box girder using external
unbounded tendon (B) Pre-cast segmental U-Channel Superstructure with internal pre-stressing.
Comparative advantages/disadvantages of the above two types are given below: A. Precast
Segmental Box Girder using External Unbounded Tendon. This essentially consists of precast
segmental construction with external prestressing and dry joints and is by far most preferred
technique in fast track projects. In such construction the pre-stressing is placed outside the structural
concrete.

(inside the box section) and protected with high density polyethylene tubes, which are
grouted with special wax or cement. The match cast joints at the interface of two segments
are provided with shear keys as in traditional segmental construction. However, epoxy is
dispensed with because water tight seal at the segment joints is not required because tendons
are laid externally & protected by special wax or cement. The main advantages of dry-jointed
externally pre-stressed precast segmental construction can be summarized as follows:- •
Simplification of all post-tensioning operations, especially installation of tendons. •
Reduction in structural concrete thickness as no space is occupied by the tendons inside the
concrete. • Good corrosion protection due to tendons in polyethylene ducts, the grout
inspection is easier and leaks, if any, can be identified during the grouting process. •
Simplified segment casting. There is no concern about alignment of tendons. Increased speed
of construction. • The elimination of the epoxy from the match-cast joints reduces costs and
increases speed of construction further. • Replacement of tendons in case of distress is
possible and can be done in a safe and convenient manner. • Facility for inspection and
monitoring of tendons during the entire service life of the structure. Precast Segmental Box
Girder using internal tendon is also use.

B. Precast Segmental U-Channel Superstructure with Internal Pre-stressing. - The single

U type of viaduct structure is also a precast segmental construction with internal pre-stressing
and requires gluing and temporary pre-stressing of segments. The match cast joints at the

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interface of two segments are also provided with shear keys. The main advantages for this
type of structural configuration of superstructure are: 1. Built in sound barrier. 2. Built in
cable support and system function. 3. Possibility to lower the longitudinal profile by
approximately 1m compared to conventional design. 4. Built in structural elements capable to
maintain the trains on the bridge in case of derailment (a standard barrier design allow this) 5.
Built in maintenance and evacuation path on either side of the track.

Viaduct & Bridge - A common factor of confusion All viaducts are bridges, and but now no
longer all bridges are viaducts. The distinction lies of their number one use, function and
construction. A viaduct commonly refers to lengthy bridges or collection of bridges linked to
each other with the aid of using arch bridge systems that incorporates a street or a railway
throughout a valley or a gorge. Viaducts in particular join factors of the terrain that are
comparable in peak if you want to bring often rail and avenue site visitors. They are
constructed over gorges, canyons, valleys and from time-to-time water. Unlike extra
complicated and different creation of bridges, viaducts include the primary wearing floor
that's supported with the aid of using arches of identical spans often constructed of stone or
concrete. Bridges, on the alternative hand, are normally constructed over our bodies of water.
They are tons large and extra costly to construct the usage f extraordinary substances
inclusive of stone, concrete, and steel. As regards their creation, there are numerous sorts of
bridges. Beam bridges are the oldest and simplest. They include horizontal beams and vertical
piers and are appropriate simplest for brief spans. Then there are truss bridges that are
constructed with the aid of using becoming a member of lengths of substances to shape an
open framework that's often triangular in form due to its inherent rigidity, power and the
cause to help heavy loads. Finally, there are suspension bridges. They are held with the aid of
using a couple of fundamental suspension cables which stretch over towers and that are
connected at every cease to an anchor buried deep within side the floor to offer power and
stability. From earliest instances of bridge constructing till the prevailing day, viaducts,
however, remained easy in creation, less complicated and less expensive to construct
however with a couple of functions each on their pavement degree and at the bottom of the
assisting arches. They bring rail and avenue site visitors above however also can be the house
to parking, storage, and business systems at their base, if they're constructed over land. If
they're constructed over water, viaducts can offer constrained site visitors of smaller boats
because of the particularly small span of assisting arches. Cities like London, Tokyo, Toronto-

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Boston and New York, collectively with many different towns all around the world, depend
upon viaducts to hold heavy rail site visitors in the city. The Prince Edward Viaduct in
Toronto contains 5 railway lanes and is complicated in shape connecting Bloor Street and
Dan fourth Avenue. Deans gate in Manchester homes regularly visited bars constructed
among the arches. Outside of town areas, viaducts had been used for greater than a century to
hold heavy rail traffic. Such is the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland constructed in 1898 with
its twenty-one arches above breath-taking surroundings bellow, together with Loch Shield.
Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, finished in 1915, is the largest bridge
within side the United States with its concrete deck 700 and twenty-4 meters lengthy and
over seventy meters above the ground. A decade older is the viaduct which crosses the Santa
Ana River in Riverside, California. Also exquisite is a greater contemporary-day one dated
2004; the Millau Viaduct in France a British-French assignment finished on the fee of about
$four hundred million. Being defined as one of the best engineering endeavors of all
instances, the Millau Viaduct proudly maintains the wealthy records of viaducts from Roman
instances to provide day.

LITERATURE REVIEW –
Overview - To provide a detailed review of literature related to Metro bridge pier and Box
Girder Bridge in its entirety is too immense to address in this thesis. However, there are many
good references that can be used as a starting point for research. This literature review
focuses on design of metro bridge pier and also review on research related to box girder
bridges. The literature review is divided into two segments. First segment deals with the
design of the pier and the second part deals box girder. The first part of the chapter reviews
Design of Metro Bridge Pier by Force Based Design (FBD) Method and Direct Displacement
Based Seismic Design (DDBD) Method. The Second part of this chapter is focused on Box
Girder Bridges and brief discussion on its research.

Design of Pier - Conventionally the pier of a metro bridge is designed using a force based
approach. Recent studies (Priestley et al., 2007) show that the force based design may not
necessarily guarantee the required target performances. The codes are now moving towards a
performance-based design approach, which consider the design as per the target
performances at the design stage. As the present study focus on the application of
displacement based approaches to pier design, a brief introduction of the two methods, force-
based and displacement based design is summarised in the following sections . Force Based
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Design Method Force Based Design Method (FBD) is the conventional method to design the
metro bridge pier. In Force based design method, the fundamental time period of the structure
is estimated from member elastic stiffness's, which is estimated based on the assumed
geometry of the section. The appropriate force reduction factor (R) corresponding to the
assessed ductility capacity of the structural system and material is selected in the force based
design and applied to the base shear of the structure. The design of a pier by force based
seismic design method is carried out as per IS 1893: 2002 Code. The design procedure to find
the base shear of the pier by FBD method is summarized below. Step 1: The structural
geometry of the pier is assumed. Step 2: Member elastic stiffness are estimated based on
member size. Step 3: The fundamental period is calculated by: T = 0.075 h0.75 Where h =
Height of Building, in m Step 4: Seismic Weight of the building (W) is estimated. Step 5: The
design horizontal seismic coefficient Ah for a structure determined by

Where, Z = Zone factor I = Importance factor R = Response reduction factor, Sa/g = Average
response acceleration coefficient Z, I, R and Sa/g are calculated as per IS 1893:2002 Code.

Step 6: The total design lateral force or design seismic base shear force (VB) along any
principal direction is given by VB = Ah W Where Ah = Design Horizontal Seismic
Coefficient and W= Seismic Weight of the Building.

ISSUES RELATED TO ELEVATED METRO –

 Elevated metro has to run on the road at a height of about 10mtr. There will be a
flyover like structure called via duct with pillars on road. Reduction in total road
carriageway width by about 3mtr.
 9mtr of central road portion will be barricaded during construction causing a traffic
chaos as no suitable alternative roads are available. (examplekarve road, jm road,
sasoon road, railway station area etc.)
 35-40mtr wide, 140mtr long and 23mtr high metro stations will be constructed at a
distance of 1km increasing traffic congestion.
 Parking space will not be available at metro stations due to the location in congested
city areas. Alignment of the metro-
 It cannot be at the centre of the road because in case of an obstruction the metro
cannot take any sharp turns.

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