Construction on the northern section of the second Gotthard road tunnel is set to be delivered by a Implenia and Frutiger – as the Secondo Tubo joint venture – following award of a £408M contract for the work by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (Fedro).
Under the deal, Secondo Tubo will construct 7.9km of tunnels working from the north portal for the project with the work expected to be completed in 2029. A separate contract will be awarded for the excavation of the 9km long southern section of tunnel.
The second Gotthard road tunnel is being constructed to relieve traffic using the existing tunnel in the long term but before both tunnels are put into use at the same time, the existing tunnel will be refurbished. Both tunnels are expected to be in operation by 2032. The project is not planned to increase capacity as only one lane will be open in either direction even when both tubes are open.
The main focus of the work to be undertaken by Secondo Tubo is a 7.3km tunnel with a 12.3m diameter, which will be undertaken by tunnel boring machine (TBM). Before work started on the main TBM bored tunnel, a 160m long drill and blast excavated tunnel will be constructed from the tunnel portal site. The work also includes 430m of drill and blast excavated tunnel in a geotechnical complex section within the middle of the 7.9km tunnel, which will be undertaken from a 4km access tunnel that is currently being constructed under a separate contract.
When the TBM reaches this 430m section, it will be pulled through and overhauled before being relaunched to complete the tunnelling for the contract.
In addition, Secondo Tubo will also construct two underground ventilation facilities and establish a concrete production plant and precast concrete lining casting facilities within former military caverns.
According to Fedro, Secondo Tubo secured the work based on both the quality and price, as well as the experience of the staff that will be deployed on the project.
Implenia CEO André Wyss said: “The second tube of the Gotthard road tunnel will make a major contribution to improving the north-south road link in Switzerland. We are delighted to be planning and building this large and complex infrastructure project, which is an excellent fit with Implenia's strategy. We will contribute our many years of experience and proven expertise in tunnel construction and other civil engineering disciplines to this exciting project.”
According to Fredo, assembly of the TBM on site for the work is expected to start in autumn next year with excavation of the 430m section of drill and blast tunnel starting in summer 2024.
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