(Elsevier, 2019) Valdenebro García, José Vicente; Gimena Ramos, Faustino; López Rodríguez, José Javier; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
Nowadays, there are many cities that have chosen to build urban utility tunnels (UUTs) in
new urban enlargements to house and order the large number of utility networks that should
be located in the subsoil. UUTs are a smart and sustainable solution for the future because,
in spite of its high initial cost in comparison with the traditional burial system, enable
preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance much more agile, less annoying and less
expensive. However, only in exceptional cases municipal authorities have opted to use this
type of underground constructions as a key element for the renewal and regeneration of the
historical centres of their cities. The main reason for this is the constructive difficulty that is
added to the higher cost of the initial investment.
The origin of this difficulty is mainly motivated because: these urban areas are inhabited
and, therefore, utility networks must be maintained in operation during the construction
works; the streets are very narrow, which makes the execution of works and the movement
of vehicles and machines difficult while at the same time allowing access for people to
homes and businesses; and most of the buildings next to the construction site work have
poor quality foundations and structures, so opening deep trenches in their proximity implies
taking great risks.
This paper proposes a construction process to be followed for the implementation of UUTs
in historic centres under the premise of maintaining utilities without interruptions during the
works and, at the same time, guaranteeing the security of workers, inhabitants, consumers
and pre-existing properties. This construction process has been used in the urban renewal
works of the historic centre of Pamplona (Spain).
