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  Overcoming the Ethical and Engineering Challenges in the Planning, Design and Construction of "La Línea" Tunnel (8.6 km) in the Central Andean Mountain Range, Colombia

  Colombia is located in the northwest of South America, has 49 million inhabitants, 1.1 million km² of surface; and complex geomorphology, high rainfall, and seismicity where tunnels are key to successfully interconnect the territory. In this new century, the country faces big challenges with the Infrastructure Master Plan (250 km of tunnels) which includes "La Línea” tunnel (8,65 km). This is the neuralgic point of the Plan since it will connect Colombia's main port with the interior of the country, crossing the Central Andean Mountain Range. The tunnel geological and geotechnical aspects correspond to a heterogeneous system of conductive meta-sedimentary rocks, connected by a complex fault system and high overburden (840 m). The tunnel project is under construction since 2004 using the NATM and presents schedule and budget problems, generating additional investments of US $ 230 million (considering a total project cost of US $ 884 million). The tunnel completion will reduce costs and time in the cargo transport and benefit its influence area (400 municipalities and 10 million inhabitants). This article presents the lessons learned from the ethics and engineering perspective, based on the analysis of technical information. It attempts to create a reflection framework on the future of Colombia's underground engineering and analyzes how all the interdisciplinary involved actors in a tunnel project should work hand-in-hand to build a resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

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