Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

The inner lining system in Norwegian traffic tunnels

Einar Brocha, Eivind Grvb,*, Kjell Inge Davikc
a

Department of Geology and Mineral Recources Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
b
O.T. Blindheim AS, Kjpmannsgt. 61, N-7011 Trondheim, Norway
c
Public Roads Administration, P.O. Box 8142 Dep, N-0033 Oslo, Norway
Received 2 February 2002; received in revised form 10 April 2002; accepted 12 April 2002

Abstract
A number of different Water and Frost Protection Systems, or so-called inner linings, have during the years been introduced
and tested in Norwegian road tunnels. At present a limited number of such systems have been approved by the Norwegian Public
Roads Administration (NPRA). These systems will all be described in brief. A system based on pre-cast concrete segments will
be described in details, including the installation procedure. Experience and limitations associated with this system will also be
discussed. A basic design concept for using an inner lining as water and frost protection is that there is no interaction between
the inner lining and the rock support. The rock support practise in Norwegian traffic tunnels will also be briefly described in this
paper. Sprayed concrete and rock bolts are the main support measures. In-situ cast-in-place concrete lining is only used locally to
solve severe stability problems. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Road tunnels; Lining; Water protection; Frost insulation; Support; Railway tunnels; Construction; Costs

1. Introduction
Norway, being a rather mountainous country, has
today approximately 750 railway tunnels and 850 road
and highway tunnels. The majority of the railway
tunnels, which are single track tunnels, were constructed
50100 years ago, while the majority of the road tunnels
has been constructed during the last 3040 years. In
1999, a 14-km-long twin track tunnel for high-speed
trains, the Romeriksporten tunnel, was completed. In
November 2001, the longest road tunnel in the world,
the 24.5-km-long Lrdal tunnel on the west coast of
Norway, was opened. More than 20 of our road tunnels
are subsea tunnels with lengths up to 7.5 km, the deepest
going down to 265 m below sea level.
2. Geological and topographical conditions
Norway forms part of a Precambrian shield. Two
thirds of the country is covered by Precambrian rocks
*Corresponding author. Tel.: q47-73-87-37-00; fax: q47-73-8737-02.
E-mail address: eivindg@blindheim.no (E. Grv).

(more than 600 million years old), with different types

of gneiss dominating. Other rocks from this era are
granites, gabbros and quartzite. Approximately one third
of the country is covered by rocks of the Cambrian
Silurian age. The greater part of these rocks are metamorphosed, but to a varying degree. Rocks such as
gneisses, mica-schists and greenstones as well as sandstones, shales, limestones and other unmetamorphosed
rocks form a mountain range, which runs through the
central parts of the country. In the geologically unique
Oslo region, the rocks are partly made up of unmetamorphic CambroSilurian shales and limestones and
partly of Permian intrusive and extrusive rocks. These
are the youngest rocks.
From an engineering geological point of view, Norway may be described as a typical hard rock province.
The rocks have been subjected to folding and faulting,
which may have a great influence on the stability in
tunnels and underground openings. Another complicating factor is the irregular stresses in the rock masses,
which are due to the steep and irregular topography.
Also, high tectonic and residual stresses are encountered.

0886-7798/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

3. Norwegian tunnel support practise

Rock support is provided to improve the stability of
an underground opening. The main principle in Norwegian tunnelling is to apply rock support in accordance
with the rock mass conditions as encountered during
tunnelling. This approach requires support methods,
which can quickly be adjusted to meet the continuously
changing quality of the rock mass. It also requires
experienced personnel actively involved in the tunnelling process to make decisions on site. And last, but not
least, it requires contracts which are flexible enough to
allow revisions to be made as more and better knowledge of the ground conditions are obtained. Successful
tunnelling is to a large extent, based on making the right
decisions at the right place and at the right time.
The rock support methods that are most commonly
used in Norway are bolting and wet mix sprayed
concrete, with steel fibre reinforcement when required.
Cast-in-place concrete is used in adverse rock mass
conditions. Also, spiling bolting and sprayed concrete
arches are used in connection with weakness zones. In
conditions with potential water seepage problems, pregrouting ahead of the tunnel face is a part of the
tunnelling procedure. This procedure is particularly
important for the subsea tunnels.
For very good and extremely good rock, only spot
bolting is used. For rock masses with quality ranging
from good to poor, the rock bolts are normally combined
with sprayed concrete. Length and pattern of the rock
bolts vary according to the size of the tunnel and the
quality of the rock mass. The sprayed concrete is steel
fibre reinforced and applied with thickness up to 100
mm for this rock quality. In rock masses of poorer
quality the bolt spacing is reduced and the thickness of
the sprayed concrete may be increased to 200 mm
depending on the rock mass. The support is installed
after each round of blasting.
For tunnelling and rock support in adverse rock mass
conditions special precautions are taken during excavation of the tunnel. Such conditions may be encountered
in weakness zones or generally in weak rock with high
rock stresses (squeezing ground). Reduced blasting
rounds and the use of spiling bolts ahead of the face
allow safe tunnelling also in such conditions. Immediate
rock support after blasting and mucking is a prerequisite.
Thick layers of sprayed concrete are built up, always in
combination with radial rock bolts. Reinforced ribs of
sprayed concrete can also be applied to further strengthen the support. The use of sprayed concrete ribs can
often replace the more expensive and time-consuming
solutions such as cast-in-place concrete linings which
are only used in the most extreme cases.
Careful observation of the stability of the tunnel is
required during the whole construction period. If needed,
convergence pins or rod extensometers are installed.

Any sign of deformation, cracking of sprayed concrete,

etc., may indicate that additional rock support is needed.
With a flexible contract system based on the use of
bolts and sprayed concrete as needed, additional support
can be installed at any time during the construction
phase.
4. Development of water and frost protection system
The early traffic tunnels in Norway were constructed
in areas with extreme topography, often because it was
impossible or very risky to construct railways and roads.
Typical examples are the many road tunnels along the
steep fjord sides on the west coast. Traffic in these areas
is very low, and support and lining of the tunnels were
done at a simplified standard to cut the construction
costs. In these tunnels one may find long stretches which
are either unsupported or only supported by spot bolting.
Even though these low traffic tunnels have a rather low
support and lining standard, it is a general experience
that there are fewer traffic accidents in the tunnels than
on the roads outside the tunnels in these topographical
difficult areas.
In Norway, due to the cold winter climate, experience
shows that frost enters deep into the tunnels. Thus, to
prevent or reduce the risk of icing in the tunnels,
different means and methods have been used. The most
successful water and frost protection system has been
the use of the PE-foam (polyethylene), see Fig. 1. It
was only after some years in use that it became clear
that this foam, with its highly combustible characteristics
will develop poisonous gases when exposed to strong
fires. Thus, the foam is today sprayed with a special
type of concrete as fire protection.
During recent years a number of tunnels have been
constructed along highways with a high volume of
traffic as well as in some of our major cities like Oslo,
Bergen and Trondheim. A different approach has to be
applied when such tunnels are designed (NPRA, 1990).
Furthermore, the aesthetic and visual impression has
been given priority during recent years. These factors
lead to an acceptance of higher construction costs.
In an international perspective it may be useful to
keep in mind that when the Norwegian designers developed the new standard support and lining requirements
for high traffic tunnels, they already had a long experience from the design and operation of linings for low
cost, low traffic tunnels. The obvious influence of this
experience is that only clearly needed support and lining
are prescribed also in the high traffic tunnels. Unnecessary or grossly over-dimensioned installations are avoided. Norwegian high traffic tunnels are thus most likely
to be more cost effective than similar tunnels in most
other countries.

E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

307

Fig. 1. Ekeberg F&WPS before fire protection.

Since the beginning of the 1960s some 20 different

methods and systems for water and frost protection have
been tested in Norwegian traffic tunnels, including both
light weight solutions and various concrete solutions, as
well as combined solutions. The lightweight structures
have aluminium, steel, glass fibre, etc., as carrying
systems. Thorough investigation of the performance
record of these systems has shown that some of the
systems do not fulfil the requirements for long-term
durability. Only a few have proved to withstand the
complex loads caused by air pressure and suction loads
from the traffic.

This experience motivated the NPRA to develop

design guidelines for inner linings (NPRA, 1995). All
lightweight structures must undergo a technical approval
in accordance with the requirements in the Design Guide
163 Water and frost protection of road tunnelsfunctional criteria and rules of design. (The Design Guide
will come in a new version in SeptemberyOctober
2002.)
Table 1 lists inner linings accepted for use in Norwegian road tunnels as of March 2002 (Davik, 1999).
The WG-tunnel fabric lining satisfies stringent requirements regarding coverings for lorries as well as storage

Table 1
Accepted W&FPS
Method of W&FPS:

Tunnel class (AADT)

A
(-2500)

WG-Tunnel fabric, not insulated

Miljhvelv, insulated (metal sheet W&FPS)
PE-foam wy60 mm sprayed concrete, steel fibres
PE-foam wy70 mm sprayed concrete, mesh reinforced
Concrete elements
Cast concrete with membrane

s1
d
d
d
d
d

B
(2500
5000)

C
(5000
10 000)

d
d
d
d
d

s2
d*
d
d

D
(10 000
15 000)

E
()15 000,
two tubes)

d*
d
d

d*
d
d

s1smay be used up to AADT 1000 (Annual Average Daily Traffic) and below a given frost limit (F10T-20 000 h 8C). s2sconcept is
modified for tunnel class C. d*sconcrete wall elements must normally be used.

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E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

Fig. 2. Pre-cast concrete segment lining.

halls. The tunnel fabric consists of high quality PVC

coated polyester fabric with a weight of 700 gym2. The
WG-tunnel fabric is erected by clamping it between
backing pipes, bolted to the tunnel periphery and pipe
bands. All bolts pass through at fabric junctures.
The Miljhvelv metal sheet inner lining consists of
a single sheetycassette of aluminium, mineral wool mat
with an overlay of high quality PVC foil. The cassettes
are installed by means of profiles anchored to the
surrounding rock. Initial systems were of varying quality
and this resulted in stricter specifications.
The NPRA is continuously working to improve existing inner linings and develop new methods. The results
of the last 5 years of development will be included in
the revision of Design Guide 163. NPRA has recently
finished a large research programme called Tunnels for
the citizen, where a sub-project Water and frost protection has highlighted the fire-, durability- and maintenance aspects of inner linings. New systems have been
developed and will go through an approval procedure
during 2002.
5. Inner lining systems with pre-cast concrete
segments
Water and frost protection systems (NPRA, 1998),
also referred to as inner lining, saw the introduction of
pre-cast concrete segments for use in high traffic tunnels
in the 1990s. An inner lining of pre-cast segments could
be applied either as insulated or as not insulated. The
inner lining should prevent water from penetrating the
lining and enter the carriageway. Consequently, the use
of watertight membranes has been enforced. Various

modifications on the pre-cast concrete segment lining

have been tested, including sandwich solutions, lightweight concrete segments, etc., to provide an inner
lining which is a stable, water-tight, durable and frost
insulated installation. Fig. 2 shows a typical crosssection of an inner lining of pre-cast concrete segments.
Experiments involving the insulation in road tunnels
against frost by using mats of PE-foam were initiated
around 1980. The method was initially meant as a useful
supplement to sheet-metal inner lining for frost protection in old, narrow low traffic tunnels. It makes use of
closed-cell polyethylene material where the most suitable thickness is 45 mm, sufficient for insulation up to
15 000 h 8C of frost. Additional layers of insulation can
be applied if greater protection is needed. The inner
lining consists of extruded foam glued together in strips
of the appropriate size. The strips are suspended by
means of bolts and arch-shaped steel straps, mounted
along the tunnel cross-section. The strips are fitted
according to the roofing principle, and the bolts are
sealed with metal disks and rubber washers on the back
and front faces of the inner lining.
For local application, PE-foam has been used in road
tunnels since 1980. However, since 1993, the NPRA
has focused the application and development of the socalled Ekeberg solution, see Fig. 3. This system consists
of pre-cast concrete segments installed along the walls,
combined with PE-foam covered by sprayed concrete
for fire protection in the roof. This solution gives a
lining, which is able to withstand reasonably high
vehicle loads along the walls. A relatively simple installation procedure reduces the construction time needed
and thus the total cost. In the following, the discussion

E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

309

Fig. 3. The Ekeberg lining system.

of inner lining systems will be based on pre-cast concrete

segments applied for both the roof and the wall, with
some comparison to the Ekeberg solution.
For the successful implementation of an inner lining
of pre-cast concrete segments there are some basic
requirements. Some of these are related also to the
tunnel excavation and rock support application. The
following requirements should be addressed:
Strict control on the drilling accuracy to reduce
overbreak
Careful perimeter blasting to prevent unnecessary
reduction of the self-supporting effect of the rock
mass.
Probe drilling ahead of the tunnel face in potentially
difficult areas to predict rock mass and groundwater
conditions.
Criteria for acceptable ingress of water into the
tunnel.
Pre-grouting to prevent uncontrolled amounts of water
entering the tunnel.
Inner lining designed as an independent structure
without any interaction with the rock support.
Rock support and inner lining designed for a lifetime
of 50 years.
Ventilation fans, cable bridges, illumination etc.
installed without any interaction with the inner lining
or the rock support.
Applying of full contour of pre-cast concrete segment
lining, the installation can be as described below. If
necessary, a frost insulated inner lining can be installed
at relevant sections of the tunnel where frost is expected,
such as for the entrance areas. The segments should be
equipped with insulation material before being erected.

Insulation can be PE-foam, XPS (expanded polyester)

or similar material attached to the segments on the side
facing the rock.
The inner lining consists of four or five pre-cast
concrete segments to form an arch covering the walls
and roof in the tunnel. Normally, the length of each
segment is 56 m for the walls and 23 m for the roof,
measured longitudinally in the tunnel. The width (transversal measure) may vary, normally wall segments are
4 m wide. Roof segments must fit to the actual crosssection and number of segments to be used, but they
are often 6 m wide. The pre-cast concrete segments are
constructed to meet the criteria of 45 MPa strength after
28 days and have a thickness of, e.g. 150 mm. Reinforcement is designed on a project-specific basis to
include the impact from vehicle collision.
The pre-cast concrete segments are stabilised by the
use of fixation bolts drilled into the rock mass. The
bolts are fully grouted steel rebars, galvanised and epoxy
coated, normally with a diameter of 25 mm. Pre-made
holes in the segments are required. The fixation bolts
will ensure a uniform installation. The joints between
neighbouring segments are sealed by water-stops. A
watertight membrane of PVC or similar material is
placed along the entire segment section. The fixation
bolts penetrate the entire structure, thus a sealing should
be in place at the interfaces between the various elements in the structure. These could be rubber rings or
gaskets.
The wall segments are placed on a concrete foundation which is cast-in-place. A backfill of pea gravel or
lean concrete is placed between the lower part of the
wall segment (0.5 m) and the rock surface to stabilise

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E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

the wall segment in case of being bumped into by

vehicles. This is done before the installation of the roof
segments.
For the Ekeberg solution, pre-cast concrete segments
are used along the walls, while PE-foam is applied in
the roof. The PE-foam is kept in place by fixation bolts,
drilled radial to the tunnel contour. In combination with
the fixation bolts installation frames consisting of vertical arches are located at a spacing of 23 m to fit the
width of the PE-foam sheets. They are designed and
manufactured to fit the theoretical tunnel contour. The
PE-foam sheets are placed edge to edge, without overlap,
along the vertical arches (Grnhaug, 1999). This system
provides an inner lining which has proved to be watertight, as there is no puncturing by rock bolts. Sprayed
concrete with a thickness of 6070 mm, in combination
with wire mesh, covers the whole of the PE-foam
installation, see Fig. 4.
6. Constructional aspects
For the systems described above there are some
constructional aspects that need to be in place to ensure
a successful installation.
The foundation for the wall segments should be castin-place running along the entire length of the installation. A continuous foundation provides a stable foot for
the placing of the concrete segments. Alternative solutions with foundations at each joint between neighbouring wall segments have been tested, but is not
recommended. The continuous foundation requires accurate construction.
Strict requirements on accuracy is also needed for the
fixation bolts as the system with the pre-cast concrete
segments has little flexibility to deal with inaccurate
installation. The bolts should be placed in a pattern so
that the inner lining maintains the theoretical cross
section in the tunnel. A typical accuracy would be "5
mm. The number of bolts must be decided by projectspecific load calculations. A dedicated unit, such as a
modified drilling rig, should be used to perform the
drilling and installation of rock bolts as the first element
of the assembly line.
The next step in the installation procedure is to fix
the membrane to the pre-installed fixation bolts. The
membrane should be perforated to fit the location of the
fixation bolts. Sealing on both sides of the membrane is
important to assure the water tightness of the concept.
The membrane should be installed with some overlap
between adjacent sheets, and the joints must be sealed
by heating or special PVC-welding, see Fig. 5.
Following the installation of the membrane is the
installation of the wall segments and finally, the roof
segments are erected, see Fig. 6. Dedicated units utilising
suction-cups or vacuum to lift the segments can be used.

The described installation procedure is like an assembly line, where the various operations are taking place
simultaneously, at different locations in the tunnel. Using
the assembly line principle, there is the possibility of
allowing some 100200 m of spacing between each
working procedure, thus enabling a thorough quality
control to take place between each operation. The quality
control is particularly important with respect to the
tightness of the membrane.
The assembly line principle reduces the need to have
a large void space between the rock surface and the
inner lining, as all installation work will be done from
inside the tunnel. Thus, the void space between the rock
and the PVC membrane can be reduced to a minimum,
may be 20 cm, to allow for later repair works.
The pre-cast concrete segment lining is a system with
little flexibility as regards negotiating tunnels with frequent cross-sectional changes such as; corners, sharp
bends and tunnel enlargements. Thus, the application of
concrete elements is normally terminated at the interface
to the enlargements, and a different lining system is
applied. A typical system to be applied in cross-sectional
changes could be PE-foam covered by sprayed concrete,
or cast-in-place concrete if required.
All installations such as ventilation fans, illumination
lamps, cable bridges, etc., are fixed to the rock mass by
use of dedicated fixation bolts. It is recommended not
to fix these installations to the inner lining itself.
7. Cost aspects and construction time
Some cost figures from the recently completed Hell
tunnel outside Trondheim are presented below. The
tunnel has a cross-section of 65 m2 and a total length
of 3910 m, and an AADT of 10 000 vehicles. The
tunnel was excavated using the conventional drill and
blast technique, utilising 18-foot. drill rods, the Nonel
ignition system and computerised drill rigs. This setting
produced an advance of 4.85.0 myblast round. The
tunnel has an inner lining consisting of the Ekeberg
solution.
A rough estimate shows the following split in main
cost elements, as per meter of tunnel:
Excavation and support:
Electrical installations:
Drainage and road:
Inner lining (Ekeberg solution)
Total construction cost:

approx. 20 000 NOK

equivalent to 2500
approx. 10 000 NOK
equivalent to 1250
approx. 10 000 NOK
equivalent to 1250
approx. 15 000 NOK
equivalent to 1750
approx. 55 000 NOK
equivalent to 6750

or
USD
or
USD
or
USD
or
USD
or
USD

E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

Fig. 4. Fire protection of PE-foam.

Fig. 5. PVC membrane and pre-cast wall and roof elements for a typical inner lining.

311

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E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

Fig. 6. Installation of concrete elements in the Bekkestua tunnel.

The figures above include costs related to planning,

design, project management, etc., which are evenly
distributed on the listed elements.
Based on experience from a large number of road
tunnels the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has prepared normalised costs for the construction of road tunnels. These normalised costs have been
split into details; including such elements as rock excavation, support, inner lining and several other installations. Based on the normalised costs the inner lining
constitutes in the range of 8595% of the excavation
costs (not including support) utilising Ekeberg solution
and pre-cast concrete segments, respectively. For a
comparison, the cost of a cast-in-place concrete lining
in Norway is 23 times the excavation cost. If a
watertight membrane has to be included to the cast-inplace concrete this ratio is expected to be considerably
higher.
Based on figures obtained from some projects in
Norway, the construction cost (materials and installation) for the pre-cast concrete segment lining is in the
range of 7585 USDym2. The Ekeberg solution has a
construction cost in the range of 6580 USDym2.
For the two 1800-m-long tubes comprising the newly

completed Rlingen highway tunnel the progress of the

construction was as follows (1 weeks100 working h):
1. Planning of the installation of the inner lining, preparation of working procedures and modification of
necessary equipment started in April 1997.
2. The installation works started after approximately 10
weeks of preparations.
3. In October 1997 the first tube was completed, and
the second tube was completed by the end of November 1997.
4. A total of 3600 m of tunnel installation was completed
within 8 months including the necessary preparatory
works.
5. The contractor managed to install the inner lining
totalling 3600 m in 6 months, producing an average
of 150 myweek. The maximum installation speed
was 250 myweek.
8. Maintenance
Maintenance of the inner lining for the two systems
described in this paper is mainly related to cleaning of
surfaces and repair after damage due to impacts caused
by being bumped into by vehicles.

E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

With respect to the maintenance of inner linings the

Norwegian Public Roads Administration has a functional
requirement, that the inner lining shall have an exposure
and shape which is enabling an easy maintenance
operation and the possibility of replacing individual
elements in the lining structure. The surface shall resist
normal cleaning operations and routines utilising the
methods prescribed for the actual lining systems. NPRA
requires that with respect to the durability, all materials
used for the inner lining shall be resistant to the
influence caused by water, frost, exhaust fumes, asphalt
and oil spill, salt, etc., within a lifetime of 50 years.
The smooth surface of an inner lining consisting of
pre-cast concrete segments allow for the same cleaning
operations as for a cast-in-place concrete lining. In many
cases the concrete segments for the wall will be given
a white painted surface which is smoothening and easing
the cleaning even more. Where a sprayed concrete has
been applied, such as in the roof for the Ekeberg
solution, the rough concrete surface covers dust and dirt
and makes the cleaning more difficult than for a precast concrete segment lining.
Both inner lining systems described in this paper
allow the repair or replacement of individual elements
in case of damage caused by the impact of being bumped
into by a vehicle. As far as the durability of these
systems is concerned, concrete is a structural element in
both, thus they are not deviating from the traditional
cast-in-place concrete linings.
9. Reference projects
The reference projects listed below are mainly located
in or near the capital Oslo as this is the area with the
heaviest traffic in Norway. Annual Average Daily Traffic, AADT, for the tunnels listed below varies from
10 000 to 75 000 vehiclesyday. A number of other
projects might have been listed. These tunnels have,
however, a traffic density which is below an AADT of
5000; for instance, the 7.5-km-long Oslofjord subsea
tunnel which was commissioned last year. The Ekeberg
solution has been applied in 1520 road tunnels in
Norway.
Both lining systems are approved for use in tunnels
in Norway with climatically conditions where the frost
amount may reach up to 30 000 h 8C. The cross-section
areas for these traffic tunnels varies from 65 to 90 m2,
giving tunnel widths of 912 m The speed in the road
tunnels varies from 70 to 90 kmyh, while the dimensioning speed for the 14-km-long Romeriksporten railway tunnel was 200 kmyh. The latter tunnel, with a
cross-section of 110 m2, has been equipped with precast segments in the entrance areas and Ekeberg lining
in central parts.

313

Road tunnels with pre-cast segment lining (length

and number of tubes in brackets):
Rlingen (Ls1800 m, two),
Stavengasen
(Ls900 m, two),

Smihagen (Ls950 m, one),

Nordby (Ls3850 m, two),
Bekkestua (Ls700 m, one),
Kjrbo (Ls500 m, two).
Road tunnels with Ekeberg lining:
Ekeberg (Ls1400 m, two),
Granfoss (Ls1200 m, two),
Svartdal (Ls1300 m, two)
10. Concluding remarks
The successful application of pre-cast concrete segment lining, particularly with respect to the water tightness, depends on the quality of the installation works,
for both inner lining systems described in this paper.
The described construction method with an assemblylike installation procedure requires strict accuracy in all
operations, an accuracy which is required to obtain a
watertight solution. However, the fact that the installation operations take place simultaneously at various
locations in the tunnel, implies that the tunnel is practically inaccessible for other construction works.
Other installation procedures have also been tried for
pre-cast concrete linings. One such procedure includes
a step-by-step installation where 56-m sections of the
tunnel was completed before advancing to the next 5
6-m section. The installation of concrete segments in
the roof and walls was done prior to the installation of
the fixation bolts. Experience gained by this latter
procedure, compared to the assembly-like procedure
indicates a less effective and more time consuming
process, and difficulties in obtaining a water tight
solution as the penetration of the rock bolts is difficult
to seal off.
It is therefore important to plan the works properly
before commencing the installation operations as well
as pre-establish relevant working procedures. A significant potential is available during the learning process
and probably a muck-up, or full-scale installation test
could be useful.
The projects described above have cross-sections in
the range of 65110 m2. Increased cross-sections will
have some impacts on the design and construction of
the inner lining. For example, it is likely that the number
of fixation bolts will be increased as the load of the
segments will increase. The weight of each segment will
also increase if it is decided to use the same number of
segments in the roof as is normally applied for the
smaller cross-sections, making the handling and placing

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E. Broch et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 305314

of the segments more difficult. However, these are

typical tasks to be dealt with in the detailed design.
There may be different reasons why the Norwegian
inner lining system so far has not been applied outside
Scandinavia. One such reason could be that in some
parts of the world the rock conditions often require
heavy rock support. Combining the support and the
water protection may thus seem as the natural solution.
It is, however, a fact that this is a very expensive and
time-consuming solution. The authors believe that when
tunnel designers outside Scandinavia gradually realise
that also high traffic tunnels can successfully be constructed and operated with the use of the Norwegian

type of inner lining, this cost saving system will be

increasingly applied on a world wide basis.
References
Davik, K.I., 1999. Cost efficient water and frost protection systems
in Norwegian road tunnels. Proceedings of the Third International
Symposium on Sprayed Concrete, Gol, Norway. pp. 172181
Grnhaug, A., 1999. Lining designs for Norwegian road tunnels.
Challenges for the 21st Century. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 347
352.
NPRA, 1990. Norwegian Design Guide Road Tunnels, 127 p.
NPRA, 1995. Water and frost protection of road tunnelsfunctional
requirements and design regulations. Handbook no.163. 31 p (in
Norwegian).
NPRA, 1998. Water and frost protection systems. Publication no. 91.
65 p (in Norwegian).