The underground link between the Favazzina arrival location of the submarine cables and the Scilla power station is key to the new 380 kV AC double-circuit Sorgente-Rizziconi transmission line to link Sicily and Calabria. The works consist mainly of a 2,842 m-long sub-horizontal tunnel and a vertical shaft more than 300 m-deep, to bring the cables from Favazzina to Scilla, located 630 m above sea level. The first 100 m section of tunnel was excavated by contractor CIPA SPA as a TBM start chamber using traditional methods. This tricky section passes beneath the railway and road in poor weathered rock.

CIPA completed excavation of the 7 m-diameter vertical shaft to the tunnel horizon at end-October, 2013 from inside the Melia power station, owned by Terna. Traditional excavation methods were used for 2.0 m incremental advances, with immediate installation of the pre-lining and the draining system.

Click here for more on the project and it/168 for tunnel builder archive. Visit www.cipaspa.it and www.terna.it. 46/13.