Hochstegen: Another construction lot of the Brenner Base Tunnel is now complete
The Swietelsky Tunnelbau company, which in 2021 secured the EUR102 million contract for the construction works of the H52 Hochstegen lot near the Brenner border, completed the works according to schedule. The lot involved the traditional excavation of 5 km of tunnels, of which approximately 3.2 km for the main tunnels, 0.9 km for the interconnection tunnels and bypasses and 0.9 km for the exploratory tunnel toward the Brenner.
The construction lot on Austrian territory was complex and challenging like the lot H71 Eisack River underpass on the Italian side of the project, which finished recently.
The alignment of Lot H52 in fact crosses the so-called Hochstegen geological fault zone, characterized by layers of carbonate rock and rich in water, which - during the 23 months of construction - made it necessary to adopt consolidation and support measures to allow the construction of the tunnel in safe conditions.
In this section, the exploratory tunnel reached just under 2 km from the Brenner state border. With the continuation of the works, and after the demolition of the layer that divides the two Italian and Austrian sections, there will be a seamless connection between the two countries for the first time.
Now RTI Porr - Marti from Vienna will begin works as the new contractor for the H53 Pfons-Brenner lot.
The TBM Lilia has excavated its first kilometer and continues south
By the 07/12/2023 the TBM Lilia - diameter 10.4 m, length 160 m and weight 2420 t - completed 1 km of East line tunnel excavation (Lot H41 Sill Gorge-Pfons). It now continues towards the South with the aim of reaching the Navis municipality, driving 8.1 km. The TBM was launched on May 2, 2023 from the Ahrental assembly chamber, approximately 1000 m below ground level, on the Austrian sideof the project.
Lilia, like her twin Ida that is digging the West line tunnel, has already passed - without any major problems - the critical fault zone called Viggarta. The two TBMs, at the same time as they are advancing, also install the inner lining of the tunnel made up of 60 t rings made up of 6 concrete segments. Lot H41 was awarded to the group consisting of Implenia Austria 30%, Implenia Switzerland 20%, WeBuild S.p.A. 25% and Csc Costruzioni SA.
The renaturation phase is underway in lot H71 Eisack River underpass
The lot H71 Eisack River underpass, which is the southernmost before access to the Fortezza station, is the most complex part of the Brenner Base Tunnel project has finished. So now they have begun land restoration to the external areas of the construction site. During the celebration of Santa Barbara, protectress of miners, four spruce trees were planted in the construction site area: a symbolic beginning of the restoration phase, which will bring the entire construction site area back to its original looks.
For further information on the project click here, at/16 and it/103 for the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.bbt-se.com/ and https://www.italferr.it. 51/23.
