By rosebell
In order to constructing the Santomarco Tunnel on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed railway, a Webuild-led consortium has won the contract.
Delivering the €1.6bn contract that covers construction of the 22.2km Paola-Cosenza section, will be up to this group, which also includes Ghella, Pizzarotti, and SELI. The 15km-long Santomarco Tunnel that was commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), is the main work of this project. Benefiting four TBMs, the twin-tube, single-track structure is going to be excavated.
The separation distance of the new tunnel from the existing single-track tunnel will be around 100m, and is due to be decommissioned once the work is complete.
Improving the capacity and efficiency of the railway connection between the Tyrrhenian coast and inland areas of Calabria, ensuring better accessibility to Cosenza and strengthening the Bari-Taranto-Gioia Tauro freight route, will be the purposes of this project.
While nine railway bridges and two viaducts are planned in total, this route is slated to cross the Province of Cosenza, passing through the municipalities of Paola, San Lucido, Rende, Montalto Uffugo, San Vincenzo la Costa, and San Fili. One 350m-long viaduct will cross the A2 motorway; another 205m-long viaduct will cross the Settimo stream. A new station will be built in Montalto Uffugo to serve the territory and the university campus in Rende.
Currently constructing of the 35km-long Lot 1A Battipaglia-Romagnano on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria line is undergoing by Webuild, whereas building the Saginara Tunnel on this section was started up by TBM in February.
