By rosebell
The digging process of the first functional lot of the Verona-Bivio Vicenza HS/HC railway has been completed by Italian construction company Webuild.
As a part of the 76.5km Verona-Padua HS/HC line,this project is now 60% finished and is being constructed by the IRICAV DUE consortium, whereas Webuild Group holding an 83% stake and Hitachi Rail STS owning the remaining 17%. The determined total project cost is almost €5bn.
Following the breakthrough of the final diaphragm of the artificial tunnel beneath the A4 Motorway in San Martino Buon Albergo, near Verona, Italy, the IRICAV Due General Contractor achieved a key landmark.
In order to minimising surface activities and decreasing the impact on daily life while ensuring stability and safety, advanced engineering techniques were used during excavation and the route passes under key infrastructures, including the A4 Motorway, the new Verona Est motorway exit, the Southern Verona ring road, and related junctions.
Being launched by RFI (FS Group) and supervised by Extraordinary Commissioner Vincenzo Macello, this project has its High Supervision and Works Management granted to Italferr (FS Group).
While completing excavation recently, it ensures a 2 km-long artificial tunnel, over 10m wide, with an internal height of 7m.
Using the Top Down method for building of this project, this approach involved first constructing the reinforced concrete diaphragms and a 1m-thick roof slab before excavating underground.
Some functional lots are the contents of the construction of the new Verona-Padua HS/HC railway line and the first lot, the Verona-Bivio Vicenza section, extending 44.2km, whereas the second lot, the Vicenza Crossing, spans 6.2km from Altavilla Vicentina to Vicenza station and tthird lot, the Vicenza-Padua section, is currently in the design phase and will cover approximately 26km.
With the aim of commencing the executive design and work of the second lot of a crossing at the junction of Vicenza, the Italian construction company concluded a €1.82bn contract in July 2023.
Linking Milan and Venice, the Verona-Padua HS/HC line is part of the Mediterranean Corridor within the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport) network, and is due to enhance Italy’s connections to the rest of Europe.
Additionall, the new Verona-Padua HS/HC line is part of the 30 major projects currently underway by Webuild Group in Italy, which in the railway sector, these include the Brenner Base Tunnel and the Genoa-Milan railway line in the North, as well as the Naples-Bari and Palermo-Catania-Messina railway sections in the South.
