Chapter 4 Type of Tunnel
(C) The Opencast
As mentioned earlier tunnelling is not going to be everyone's kettle of fish or did I say cup of tea?. There may be over 30 people on site, yet maybe only a few of these will be willing to spend significant periods working underground. If that is the case then an open cast or cut and cover tunnel would be advisable. Everyone can dig -if they've two arms and legs then they can use a shovel. New people on site, visitors and lunchouts* can be put to work, no experience necessary, no excuses accepted. The open cast tunnel on the route of the proposed Birmingham northern relief road (BNRR) in 1998 was excavated to a depth of around 15 feet. This allowed room for shoring and also permitted concrete to be poured between the shoring and the earth to form a wall. While others dig the the open cast living area, you can then begin digging the tunnel that will be the entrance. This can also be open cast or one of the designs mentioned earlier. The open cast tunnel has the advantage in that you can merely lower defences into the tunnel such as doors that would be difficult if not impossible to position if it was a normal tunnel. The open cast tunnel at Faslane Peace camp in Scotland had a number of guillotine type doors they could have only been installed in an open cast tunnel as it took 11 people and a pulley system to lower them into position.
Standard open cast /cut and cover tunnel
Despite the great deal of physical effort required construction can be surprisingly faster than one would expect. If it's not raining and you're in a group of people with a radio the job can almost seem enjoyable. Once dug it's easy to put in the neccessary supplies and install the airpipe. All that remains is to then put in the shoring then cover the chamber and maybe the entrance tunnel with concrete. At Faslane the campers used 4' by 4' pieces of timber which were then positioned at 1 and a half feet intervals to support a steel and concrete roof which was over a 3 foot thick.
Before the cement arrived the campers at Faslane took advantage of the large open hole and threw in as much non biodegradable rubbish in as possible. Ie old tyres, steel rods, cans etc. (wood ,paper etc rots in the concrete thus weakening the structure). It's worthwhile placing a scaffold frame within the walls prior to cementing, which can in time grow into a tower. The idea being that to evict the tower jolly bailif will require a cherry picker * which can't be used because it may collapse the tunnel. Likewise evicting the tunnel safely is out of the question while protesters occupy the tower.
The effectiveness of the open cast tunnel was once debatable. It was rumoured the tunnel bailiffs would merely bypass the entrance tunnel and dig into the side of the open cast chamber. As the chamber wall is solid concrete the risk of a collapse while they dig will be almost nil. The eviction of the crystal palace bunker in early 1999 ended that theory. The bunker itself was constructed on the surface with over 4 feet thick walls then covered with tones of earth. A tunnel which had a series of doors led down to the bunker which had a food supply for over a month. Unable to gain entry the bailiffs (See Ch22 The other side) resorted to digging a shaft down the side of the bunker and up under the side wall. A process that took 19 days. Had the floor of the bunker been made of concrete the tunnel could have held out longer. As it was however the two protesters in the tunnel gave up before the bailiffs reached them due to a lack of food and other items needed for a man and woman to live comfortably underground for a long period.
The danger with digging an open cast tunnel means that everyone will see what your doing. A police helicopter filmed the massive open cast tunnel at the Greenwood site during the BNRR campaign resulting in the open cast being subsequently destroyed by police and contractors before anyone had time to occupy it. Despite the disadvantages it should be noted that at the time of writing the threat to Faslane Peace camp seems to be receding. The reason is that the council simply cannot afford to evict the open cast tunnel .
* Lunch out- A lazy person back
* Cherry Picker- A hydraulic platform used to remove protesters from trees back
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