Colle Urania Tunnel Breaks Through in ItalyOn 22nd November, 2007 the Colle Urania water tunnel broke through, as part of the enhancement of the Ruzzo del Gran Sasso aqueduct, on Teramo side in Abruzzo. The 1,885 m tunnel has been bored by consortium Condori, formed by Condotte d'Acqua and Orion, who used a 4.25 m-diameter Lovat TBM RMP167SE series 22701. The cutterhead is equipped with 15" cutters. The inner lining comprises of 25 cm-thick rectangular precast concrete segments, 4,100 mm outer diameter and 3,600 mm inner diameter. The project will cost EUR36.8 million and will be ready in 2008. Visit www.condottespa.it, www.orion.re.it and www.lovat.com It is a single bored water tunnel. Geology is Vomano marls. This rock formation is composed of alternated clay and very compact marly claystone, very fractured and cracked, as well as fissile and schistous sections, with lithoid clayish marls, often very fractured, with strengths varying from 40 to 80 MPa. Crews achieved outstanding average advance rates. On average, advance rate was 24 linear metres a day with peaks to 32 linear metres. Working three 8-hour shifts per day, the TBM excavated 709 metres of tunnel in October with a daily best of 31.2 metres and daily average of 22.9 metres. The TBM maintained its pace leading up to the breakthrough in late November, boring 435 metres of tunnel in 20 days. Tunnel excavation wascompleted nearly two months ahead of the estimated five month duration. Schoema locos and 5.5 cu m Palmieri muck cars have been used to move away the excavated rock. Visit www.schoema-locos.de and www.palmierirocktools.comThe project involves the construction of an aqueduct to channel the water flows currently available and cope with possible emergency situations that could arise from the decommissioning of the source of the Gran Sasso highway tunnel, the main existing water supply source today. The main structures include two tunnels, the one named Colle Urania which forms part of the Vomano-Tordino aqueducts, in Teramo municipality, and the other one named Piaganini in Fano Adriano and Montorio al Vomano. The length of the Piaganini tunnel is approximately 1,800 m. In addition, there are two emergency lifting facilities to double the existing water supply system. Click it/112. 50-51/07.