Author Description

The increased use of underground space for transportation systems and the increasing complexity and constraints of constructing and maintaining above ground transportation infrastructure have prompted the need to develop this technical manual. This FHWA manual is intended to be a single-source technical manual providing guidelines for planning, design, construction and rehabilitation of road tunnels, and encompasses various types of tunnels including mined and bored tunnels (Chapters 6-10), cut-and-cover tunnels (Chapter 5), immersed tunnels (Chapter 11), and jacked box tunnels (Chapter 12). The scope of the manual is primarily limited to the civil elements of design and construction of road tunnels. FHWA intended to develop a separate manual to address in details the design and construction issues of the system elements of road tunnels including fire life safety, ventilation, lighting, drainage, finishes, etc. This manual therefore only provides limited guidance on the system elements when appropriate.