The future of the NATM - Die Zukunft der NÖT

The technical development of the new Austrian tunnelling method has made decisive progress in recent decades, although mostly unnoticed by the general public. There is little reason for worry regarding possible or necessary technical developments in the future. What is dangerous for the construction method is the increasing concentration of the people involved in the project on purely contractual discussions, while the necessary collaboration on technical development is ever less important, as is the role of the technicians and engineers. In order to counter this and ensure the future of this method of construction, the essential and unaltered basic principles of the NATM and the role of the engineers must retain their former importance. There are a few positive examples, which point to the development potential and the constraints, which will be necessary in the future.