In Tunneling in the Digital Age, Bentley Systems’ Oana Crisan discusses how digital transformation and connected workflows are helping teams mitigate risk, boost collaboration, and drive project success below the surface
Going underground is a seemingly simple approach to the increasing pressure for infrastructure in our fast-growing societies—but it is far from simple. Tunneling can carry enormous costs per kilometer, with impressive (but pricey) tunnel boring machines engineered and driven with great precision but operating in highly uncertain subsurface conditions. Any breakdown in collaboration between the multiple disciplines in the project can result in poor decision-making and critical risks to project delivery and the profitability of the project.
But successful construction is just the start of the journey. Underground infrastructure is a long-term investment—just look at the London Underground, with the metropolitan line opened over 150 years ago but now spans lines with 270 stations, carrying 4 million passengers daily. We need to set forth with ongoing operation and expansion in mind by bringing a multidiscipline digital twin approach from the outset.
As we respond to the challenge to do more with less, we can lean on the advantages offered by digital solutions to increase agility while accelerating manual and repetitive tasks. We can provide engineers with more time to analyze potential errors and create alternatives for optimum design, safety, and performance prior to construction, and carry this into the operational phases.
Current Challenges and Frontier Opportunities
Despite their transformative potential, these collaborative approaches face several significant challenges that must be addressed before they can become standard practice:
The Data Management Burden
The 2023 Geoprofessionals Data Management report revealed that geotechnical professionals spend approximately 20% of their time—one full day each week—simply managing data. This administrative burden reduces the time available for actual engineering analysis and interpretation.
Streamlining data workflows remains a critical priority. The ultimate goal must be systems that handle routine data processing automatically, freeing engineers to focus on exceptions, anomalies, and insights that require human judgment.
The Uncertainty Communication Challenge
While geotechnical engineers may have developed sophisticated methods for quantifying and managing uncertainty, communicating this uncertainty to other stakeholders remains difficult. Digital twins need visualization techniques that can effectively represent confidence levels, alternative interpretations, and ranges of possible outcomes. This isn’t simply a technical challenge—it’s a matter of developing a common framework for dealing with uncertainty that works across disciplines and stakeholder groups. The International Association of Engineering Geologists’ guidelines for geological engineering models represent an important step forward, providing a rigorous framework developing and applying geological engineering models critical relationship between conceptual, observational and analytical models.
The Interoperability Imperative
Despite significant progress, file compatibility and data translation issues remain obstacles for many organizations. These technical barriers reinforce organizational silos and limit the potential for true collaboration. Integration that allows the insights of one group to be used by another without breaking chain of custody or compromising traceability and data lineage is essential to success.
Progress requires not just technical solutions, but also industry alignment around common standards and protocols, plus open BIM standards have yet to be fully extended to tunneling.
The Future of Underground Innovation
The upcoming World Tunnel Congress in May will bring together the global tunneling community to explore innovations reshaping the industry. Bentley and Seequent will showcase their latest advances through several technical presentations and a dedicated booth where visitors can experience these connected workflows firsthand. This gathering represents an ideal opportunity to see how the gap between geological modeling and infrastructure engineering is being bridged through purpose-built solutions that address complex underground challenges.
Looking ahead, several emerging trends promise to further accelerate the evolution of digital collaboration in tunnel engineering:
AI-enhanced Interpretation
Machine learning algorithms are increasingly capable of identifying patterns in geotechnical data that might be missed by human analysts. These algorithms don’t replace engineering judgment, they also amplify it by filtering noise, highlighting anomalies, and suggesting correlations that warrant closer investigation.
Sensor Fusion and Real-time Monitoring
Advances in sensor technology and data transmission are enabling more comprehensive monitoring during both construction and operation. These systems provide continuous feedback that refines our understanding of ground behavior and structural performance.
Extended Reality for Enhanced Visualization
Virtual and augmented reality technologies are creating new ways to interact with subsurface data. These immersive visualization tools make complex spatial relationships more intuitive and accessible to diverse stakeholders.
Beyond Technology: The Human Dimension
While technological capabilities continue to advance, the most significant challenges, and opportunities, in implementing multidiscipline digital approaches are human rather than technical. Organizations that recognize this reality will be best positioned to realize the full potential of these transformative technologies.
Successful implementation requires attention to several key human dimensions:
Skill Development across Disciplines
Engineers, geologists, and construction specialists need opportunities to develop skills that span traditional disciplinary boundaries. These “T-shaped professionals” combine depth in their primary discipline with breadth across adjacent fields.
Collaborative Leadership
Project leaders must create environments where multidisciplinary teams can collaborate effectively. This requires not just technological infrastructure, but also cultural norms that encourage questioning, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving.
Client Education and Engagement
Project owners and operators need to understand the value proposition of digital twins—not as technological novelties, but as business tools that reduce risk, enhance predictability, and create lifecycle value.
Regional Innovation in Action
Digital twin technology and connected workflows are transforming major underground infrastructure projects across the Middle East. A classic example is the Route 2020 expansion of the Dubai Metro, which showcases how digital planning tools and geotechnical modelling can support tunneling through complex urban environments. These technologies minimised disruptions and enhanced construction accuracy beneath active infrastructure. Similarly, the Doha Metro in Qatar stands out for its use of sensor fusion and real-time monitoring. Despite the region’s challenging limestone geology, more than 100 kilometers of tunnels were completed swiftly through advanced Building Information Modelling (BIM) integration and continuous feedback systems, significantly improving both safety and efficiency.
Looking to the future, NEOM’s THE LINE in Saudi Arabia illustrates the potential of underground infrastructure. As part of its zero-carbon vision, the megaproject is exploring AI-driven design and predictive modelling to build a sustainable subterranean system for transit and utilities. These projects position the Middle East as a global testing ground for innovative tunnel engineering.
