By rosebell
With 12.39m diameter, 102m length and almost 2,500 tons weight, TBM Paulina’s cutterhead is powered by 16 electric motors, delivering a combined output of 5,600kW or 7,600 horsepower.
In order to building the 7.75km-long southern tunnel section, the TBM is due to be deployed by the consortium of Marti Tunnel, Mancini & Marti, and Ennio Ferrari SA on Main Lot 34.
Considering that existence of granite, gneiss and slate are expected, this machine has been designed to drive through the hard rock of the Alps.
Using a 7.4m-diameter Herrenknecht single shield TBM, digging process of the southern access tunnel with was completed in August last year.
Given that the 45-year-old tunnel needs repair so the Swiss Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) has launched the construction of a second, parallel tube to ensure that traffic can continue to flow during the renovation and closure of the tunnel, so this new Gotthard Tunnel is slated to supplement the existing 16.9km tunnel between Göschenen in the Swiss canton of Uri and Airolo in the canton of Ticino. Once work on both tubes has been completed, one tunnel with one lane (plus emergency lane) will be available for southbound and one for northbound traffic.
The daily number of vehicles that are using the Gotthard road tunnel is about 16,000.
