Abstract
Tunnel construction, a common byproduct of rapid economic growth and transportation-system development, carries inherent risks to life and various kinds of property that operations and management professionals must take into account. Due to various and complicated geological conditions, tunnel construction projects can produce unexpected collapses, landslides, avalanches, and water-related hazards. Moreover, damage from such events can be intensified by other factors, including geological hazards caused by natural disasters, such as heavy rainfall and earthquakes, resulting in huge social, economic, and environmental losses. Therefore, the present research conducted multiple linear regression analyses on financial-loss data arising from tunnel construction in Korea to develop a novel tunnel-focused method of natural-hazard risk assessment. More specifically, the total insured value and actual value of damage to 277 tunnel-construction projects were utilized to identify significant natural-disaster indicators linked to unexpected construction-budget overruns and construction-scheduling delays. Damage ratios (i.e., actual losses over total insured project value) were used as objective, quantitative indices of the extent of damage that can be usefully applied irrespective of project size. Natural-hazard impact data—specifically wind speed, rainfall, and flood occurrences—were applied as the independent variables in the regression model. In the regression model, maximum wind speed was found to be correlated with tunnel projects’ financial losses across all three of the natural-hazard indicators. The present research results can serve as important baseline references for natural disaster-related risk assessments of tunnel-construction projects, and thus serve the wider purpose of balanced and sustainable development.
Highlights
Data on 277 cases of damage that occurred during tunnel construction in South Korea between 2004 and 2019 were utilized in the development of this study’s quantitative risk-assessment methodology. the analyses used for this purpose included direct and third-party damage, both material damage and accidents involving workers, derived from data provided by an insurance company
Its finding that maximum wind speed was significantly correlated with financial losses lends support to prior studies that reported wind speed as the main reason for natural disaster-induced losses to infrastructure systems [52,53]
Tunnels, which are critically important to the enhancement of existing transportation networks and the creation of effective new ones, require advanced and sustainable risk assessment and management, especially given the increasing frequency and unprecedented magnitude of natural disasters in recent times. the present study’s analysis of the relationship between financial losses by 277 South Korean tunnel-construction projects and three types of natural hazards between 2004 and 2019 concluded that high winds during typhoons represented a significant loss factor
Summary
Tunnels are vital to the transportation of people and goods, and are proliferating worldwide as a consequence of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and the associated growth of road and rail networks. Economic growth in South Korea is underpinned by railways and highway systems, which pass through many tunnels due to the complicated geomorphological and geological settings. Far from mitigating their inherent disadvantages, including but not limited to vulnerability to collapse, landslides, and flooding during construction [8,9,10], increased demand for tunnels has merely proliferated risk and uncertainty [11]. Insurance Statistics Information Services [12] revealed that insured losses during tunnel construction in South Korea over the period 2005–2016 totaled US$8.77 million
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
