By rosebell
Tunneling projects and people from 11 countries have been recognised in this year’s ITA Tunnelling Awards.
This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze winners and highly commended finalists represent all facets of the underground infrastructure industry, including four rail, five metro, and five road projects; two water and wastewater treatment projects; two immersed tubes; five TBM, three drill and blast and two rehabilitation applications; a story book to inspire the young; a project to uplift remote rural communities; and six outstanding young professionals.
Young Tunnellers of the Year:
Gold – Aida Santos Santamaria, Spain
Gold – Andrea Marchioni, Italy
Bronze – Helena Castellvi Linde, Spain
Highly Commended – Fang Lin, China; Patricia Lamas, Spain; and Akx Malik, India
Major Projects of the Year (more than €500m):
Gold – Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link Immersed Tunnel, China
Silver – Shanghai Suburban Railway Airport Link Line, China
Bronze – Shanghai Urban Core Area Ultra-Long and Mega Northern Cross Passage Project, China
Project of the Year (between €100-500m):
Gold –Yang Zong Tunnel – Kunming (Fude Overpass) to Yiliang Expressway, China
Silver – Washington Metro Yellow Line Rehabilitation Project, USA
Bronze – High Speed Two – Long Itchington Wood Twin-Bored Tunnels, UK
Project of the Year (up to €100m):
Gold – Hongyancun Station – Chongqing Rail Transit Line 9, China
Silver – Shield Tunnel – Macau Light Rail Extension, China
Bronze – Subsea Utility Tunnel, Singapore
Technical Innovation of the Year:
Gold – Cutting CO2 emissions on Toulouse Metro extension
Silver – Geothermal retrofitting in Italian road tunnels
Bronze – Real-time deformation monitoring
Product/Equipment Innovation of the Year:
Gold – Trackless transport system for large and super-long TBM tunnels, China
Silver – High-pressure abrasive waterjet-assisted TBM, China
Bronze – 2-boom automated shotcrete machine, Japan
Highly Commended – Polymer Innovation for Water Recycling, UK
Elevated Thinking Underground: Shaping the Future
Gold – Venizelou Metro Station – Thessaloniki, Greece
Silver – Tunnelling for a Better Life in Poor Regions: Daliangshan No.1 Super Long Highway Tunnel, China
Bronze – Vinnie and the metro – inspiring the next generation of tunnel builders through storytelling, Sweden
The scheduled date for nominations of the 2026 Awards is spring next year and Lisbon in conjunction with the Portuguese Tunnelling and Underground Space Commission conference will host this event from November 2-6.
