cut-and-cover

American  

[kuht-n-kuhv-er] / ˈkʌt nˈkʌv ər /

noun

1. a method for digging a tunnel, laying pipe, etc., by cutting a trench, constructing the tunnel or laying the pipe in it, and covering with the excavated material.

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cut-and-cover British  

adjective

1. designating a method of constructing a tunnel by excavating a cutting to the required depth and then backfilling the excavation over the tunnel roof

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Etymology

Origin of cut-and-cover

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Some of the tunnels will be created using a cut-and-cover method - without the need for boring machines.

From BBC

Not only that, but the clock’s foundation was integrated into the cut-and-cover station’s own structure, attached by steel rebar, when tunnel builders poured a huge slab of concrete in 1988 forming the lid.

From Seattle Times

In the discussions on how to proceed with the missing link, I have never heard of a possible cut-and-cover solution.

From Seattle Times

Beverly Hills had agreed grudgingly and in principle to let a 10-mile, maximum 10-lane freeway run through town, so long as it was dug down at least 20 feet below ground level, its hideousness concealed from residents and real estate appraisers under a camouflaged “cut-and-cover,” and also that there would be no on- or off-ramps in BH itself.

From Los Angeles Times

Those include shallow “cut-and-cover” construction where possible, they say.

From Seattle Times