RETC program to explore construction knowhow 16 May 2019

With the World Tunnel Congress in Naples, Italy, just finished, RETC, the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference in the United States is just around the corner. To be held this year in Chicago, Illinois, from Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 June, the event is organised by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) to provide a forum for practicing professionals to share experiences and keep up new trends, new technologies, innovative concepts, new equipment, materials and construction methods.

The program prepared for attendees at the RETC this year will address the evident trend that tunnels and underground spaces are having to be constructed in larger dimensions, to greater depths, and through more challenging conditions and the expectation on the industry to complete these demanding projects successfully while meeting needs for maintaining quality, schedule, performance, and safety.

The biennial RETC series is sponsored by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) and provides a forum for practicing professionals to keep up with the ever changing and growing tunneling industry and to stay abreast of new trends and technologies as well as innovative concepts, new equipment, materials, management, financing, and design methods.

The programme for delegates this year will include four parallel technical sessions across two and half days for a total of 20 sessions of technical presentations covering projects from across the United States and other countries of the world (Table 1).

In addition to the technical sessions a set of social events are arranged to provide opportunities to network and connect with fellow professionals. These in include a reception on Sunday evening for the Women in Tunneling Group and the UCA Young Members networking event on Tuesday evening (Table 2).

The exhibition that accompanies the conference is an opportunity to get a first hand look at new products, comprehensive services and integrated solutions offered by the exhibitors. Visit our interactive RETC exhibition preview and floorplan to plan your exhibition schedule and find the location of the companies you wish to visit.

RETC is one of the most anticipated events in the international tunneling industry calendar and the gathering in Chicago is programmed to be a productive and enjoyable session. Visit TunnelTalk at the exhibition booth 1101. We look forward to meeting friends and colleagues and new contacts.