Volume 3, Issue 3 April 2003

2003
2002
2001

1994: The Channel Tunnel is completed with UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumnus John Neerhout, Jr. (ME '53) as Project Chief Executive by David Pescovitz Printer-friendly version John Neerhout (ME '53) spoke at the College of Engineering's 2002 commencement ceremony. In 1994, after three years of construction and $21 billion dollars, an engineering tour de force finally linked bustling London and Paris via a three-hour train ride under the English Channel. Leading the visionary project — the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel — to completion for Eurotunnel was Berkeley alum John Neerhout (ME '53). The most expensive construction project ever at the time of its completion, the Chunnel is actually divided into three tunnels — two for rail traffic and one as an escape route. Twenty-three of the 31 miles are under water, at an average depth of 150 feet below the seabed. The massive boring machines that chewed through the seabed provided enough rubble to Britain for 90 extra acres of land that were ultimately transformed into a park. Have a story about John Neerhout that you'd like to share? We want to hear from you... After graduating from Berkeley with a degree in mechanical engineering, Neerhout began his professional career at the Todd Shipyards in San Francisco. In 1966, he joined the Bechtel Group, an international engineering and construction firm, and by 1986 was the company's executive vice president. Since returning to Bechtel after the three-year Chunnel project, Neerhout has directed the completion of $50 billion in civil engineering, petroleum, chemical and mining projects around the world. Now a director of London and Continental Railways, Neerhout has trained his visionary eye on a new Chunnel-related project. The company is building a $7.8 billion high-speed rail link between the Channel Tunnel and London. The Channel Tunnel was first proposed in 1802. Making that dream a reality took nearly two hundred years... and a Berkeley engineer. Eurotunnel (History) Bechtel Corporation Channel Tunnel Rail Link Lab Notes is published online by the Public Affairs Office of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. The Lab Notes mission is to illuminate groundbreaking research underway today at the College of Engineering that will dramatically change our lives tomorrow. Editor, Director of Public Affairs: Teresa Moore Writer, Researcher: David Pescovitz Designer: Robyn Altman Subscribe or send comments to the Engineering Public Affairs Office: lab-notes@coe.berkeley.edu. © 2003 UC Regents. Updated 4/4/03.