By rosebell
Following completion of the digging process of the west main tunnel, by TBM Flavia, which is the last of three TBMs operated by the Webuild-led consortium for the H61 Mauls section, excavation work on the Italian side of the Brenner Base Tunnel has been completed.
Being launched in April 2019, this TBM has bored beneath the Alps for the Mules 2-3 lot, reaching the border with Austria and with 10.71m-diameter TBM Flavia installed 65,000 segments along the 14.3km tunnel.
While excavating a large part of the exploratory tunnel on the Italian side, the time of arrival of TBM Serena to its destination was November 2021. In March 2023 after finishing the excavation of the eastern main tunnel, TBM Virginia completed its journey.
Due to the overburden of over than 1,200m and the low strength of the fractured rock, TBM Flavia came to a standstill for several months almost 3.5km from the Brenner Pass in April 2023 and was restarted after several attempts.
Overall progress on Lot Mules 2-3 now stands at over 95%.
As the main section of the Italian side of the tunnel, the Mules 2-3 Lot is a key component of the project and includes the excavation of a system of 65km of tunnels, over 40km of which were bored using TBMs.
With appreciation the tunneling team’s work, BBT SE board members Gilberto Cardola and Martin Gradnitzer said: “With the arrival of TBM Flavia, the mechanised tunnelling on the Italian side has been successfully completed. This success is primarily due to the commitment and team spirit of the tunnelling crew, who worked with the utmost professionalism and under safe conditions every day. Sincere thanks also go to the planners, engineers, geologists, and all BBT SE employees involved in the construction, whose valuable contributions made a significant contribution to achieving this important milestone.”
Being active in other lots of the Brenner Base Tunnel, Webuild is also working on the Austrian side of the tunnel, with the Gola del Sill-Pfons Lot, and has completed the Tulfes-Pfons Lot, also on the Austrian side of the border. The company also built the Isarco Underpass, which marks the southernmost point of the tunnel before reaching the Fortezza station.
In order to enhancing the infrastructure connecting to the Brenner Base Tunnel, Webuild is working on the project to strengthen the Fortezza-Ponte Gardena section and the Trento Rail bypass along the Munich-Verona railway axis.
Located between Austria and Italy via the Alps, the 64km Brenner Base Tunnel is going to be the world’s longest rail tunnel and will link the cities of Fortezza in Italy and Innsbruck in Austria. Reducing the travel time from the current 80 minutes to 25 minutes, passenger trains will travel at speeds of up to 250km/h.
It is part of the Munich-Verona railway axis and a key element of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T network.
