By rosebell
Following that the internal diaphragm in the west main tunnel was demolished in previous week, about 1,200m beneath the Padauner Kogel, and the excavation was carried out by drill and blast, this marked a breakthrough on another internal diaphragm on Lot H53 Pfons-Brenner of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT).
Less than a month after that the H53 BBT consortium of Porr and Marti broke through the diaphragm wall in the east line tunnel, this breakthrough was made.
Considering these latest landmarks, 85% of digging process for the entire BBT project have been completed and while the TBM Flavia, the last of three TBMs operated by the Webuild-led consortium for the H61 Mauls section, finished excavation of the west main tunnel in last month, mechanical excavation on the Italian side was completed.
As the largest construction lot on the Austrian side of the project, H53 Pfons-Brenner was the last of the BBT tunneling works to be awarded.
It includes two TBM drives of 7.6km each; 10km of tunnel using the NTAM method; 1.6km of exploratory tunnel; and 37 cross-passages with a total length of around 2.6km.
September 2024 was the date of launching two 10.37m-diameter Herrenknecht TBMs, Wilma and Olga.
