By rosebell
As part of the Sill Gorge-Pfons construction lot, located south of Innsbruck, the first parts of the TBM called “Lilia” were delivered to the H41 construction site. This is primarily a single part of the cutter head of the tunnel boring machine. The diameter of this cutter head will be approximately 10 meters when assembled.
Once the components have been delivered, they will be taken to the assembly chamber where they will be assembled into the machine.
During this spring, when the assembly phase of Lilia, this huge multifunctional machine deep within the lungs of the mountain, will be completed, this huge machine, known as Lilia, will start moving southward from the assembly chamber in the Ahrental, excavating 8.1 km of the eastern main tunnel in total.
The entire fleet of these mobile construction sites is currently working its way through the heart of the mountain to provide services to our customers. Among the team members doing the excavation work of the H61 Mules 2-3 construction lot, Lilia will be playing a major supporting role in the continuation of the excavation work of the Brenner Base Tunnel, along with Flavia and Virginia.
The excavation methods used in the H41 Sill Gorge-Pfons lot
The excavation of a tunnel can be accomplished using either traditional methods, such as drilling and blasting, or using mechanized excavation methods. A tunnel boring machine, also known as a TBM, is used in this latter situation.
In the H41 Sill Gorge-Pfons lot, both of these excavation methods are being used. During the excavation process, the main tunnels being dug through the H21 Sill Gorge lot are being excavated by drilling and blasting up to the point where a breakthrough will be made with the neighboring H21 lot. Generally speaking, tunnel boring machines are being used to excavate the main tunnels, which will take the future H53 Pfons-Brenner lot further southward before it ends at the town of Navis, where it will be connected to the future H54 Pfons-Brenner lot.
