The immersed tunnel technique is a common used technique for river crossings in the Netherlands, but also in the United States and Japan. 80% of the immersed tunnels are built in these 3 countries. The design of the immersed tunnels differs for the different countries, because of the possibility of seismic loading on the tunnel structure. This seismic loading can occur at the west coast of the United States and in Japan, because of their position close to tectonic earth plates.
The immersed tunnels in the Netherlands are built with elements of 100-150 meter consisting of segments of 20-25 meters. For transportation these segments are pre-stressed forming one element, after immersion on the river bottom they are released again. In this way the tunnel is flexible and can follow the settlement differences of the river bed. The water tightness in the joints is secured with rubber sealing profiles in the segment joints (W9U) and compressible rubber profiles in the immersion joint (Gina).