Alan Muir Wood was hailed by contemporaries as the “father of modern tunnelling” and a “Brunelian figure” who did as much as any other British civil engineer to make possible outstanding infrastructure projects in the late 20th century such as the Channel Tunnel.

His intellectual rigour, ability to communicate complex engineering principles and ambassadorial skills did much to persuade the British and French governments in the mid-1980s to approve a project that they had prevaricated over for a generation.

Muir Wood led a team of engineers that carried out a technical study for a crossing over the English Channel from 1958-60. Having recommended a bored tunnel through the mainly chalk stratum underneath the Channel, he then led a more detailed feasibility study in 1964-65 and set the technical parameters for the project which were very similar to what was eventually built from 1988-94.

Ironically, having done so much to get the tunnel-boring machine rotating under the chalk cliffs of Dover in 1988, Muir Wood was not involved in the final design of the project. It was perhaps just as well, since he was an outspoken critic of the contract form — in which the contractor, TransManche Link, took almost all of the risk for building the tunnel, leading to what he claimed was an “uneconomic design”. He was also critical of the inadequate time given over to detailed design before construction got under way.

The project was completed in 1994, 18 months late and 72 per cent over budget. Muir Wood was an extremely busy man as a member of the Anglo-French dispute panel or “five wise men” that adjudicated on many claims between client and contractor on the project.

The construction contract was written in English and French and Muir Wood’s fluency in French was vital in gaining accord between the members and trying to settle claims before they got to court.

Tunnelling was particularly suited to Muir Wood’s intellectually rigorous approach to engineering — to grapple with the “unknown enemy” of ground movement that you could never fully anticipate.

His stature as a tunnel designer had been built up from the early 1950s at a time when infrastructure building in Britain would hit a peak not seen since the great engineering feats of the 19th century.

After joining William Halcrow & Partners in 1952, Muir Wood designed a series of tunnels, each one pushing the boundaries of what was thought possible.

The first of these projects were two railway tunnels at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire (1957), a prototype of the modern tunnel with its cylindrical pre-cast concrete segments that did much to influence the design of the Victoria Line built from 1962-72.

His design of the Clyde Tunnel (1964) in Glasgow responded to the challenge of keeping the tunnel face stable when encountering waterbearing sands and gravel and alluvium beneath the river bed. Muir Wood helped to devise a strategy that involved using compressed air to stabilise the tunnel face.

The success of the Clyde Tunnel showed the way to other river tunnels to open up transport links in urban areas such as the Tyne Tunnel and the Second Mersey Tunnel.