Environmental risk management for a cross interchange subway station construction in China

Ground surface settlement induced by urban subway construction using shallow tunnelling method is inevitable and it may cause a series of negative impact to existing nearby structures and utilities. In order to guarantee environmental safety, a risk management methodology which aims at process control for ground settlement and existing nearby structures is proposed. It includes 5-stage technology-based steps: survey of existing conditions, designing control standards for key risk factors, analyzing environmental response under tunnel construction and designing process control standards, monitoring and taking proper process control measures during construction, and risk reassessment after construction. This methodology was put into practice in the Huangzhuang subway station construction which is the largest cross interchange subway station construction using shallow tunnelling method in China. According to site survey, nearby pipelines and existing buildings were determined to be the key risk factors. The risk control standards for nearby pipelines and existing buildings were made according to available standards in China and related literatures. Design of process control standards for ground surface settlement was assisted by numerical simulation, which aimed at controlling the key risk factors. During construction, monitoring was adopted for the nearby pipelines, existing buildings and ground surface. After the four drifts excavation of the double-deck part of Line 4, a series of risk control measures, which included treatment of the unfavorable geological bodies, installation of roof pipes, compensation grouting, full-face grouting and some other control measures, were taken. Due to these risk control measures, ground surface settlements, except at two measuring points of Line 4, were successfully controlled under the given process control standards for both Line 4 and Line 10. All the pipelines and buildings were under their normal service state during tunnel construction. The maximum deflection for the 6 pipelines above the station was controlled to be within 2 mm/m and the maximum settlement of all the monitoring points for the pipelines was less than 30 mm. For the four important existing buildings in close vicinity, the maximum deflection was less than 1 mm/m; the maximum settlement value was 6.8 mm and the maximum uplift value was 3.0 mm. The risk control system was shown to be effective in ensuring environment safety, structure safety and construction safety. These safety control methods, the methodology of designing these control standards and the measures taken in the construction can serve as a practical reference for other similar projects.