By Rose Bell
The TBM Margherita, which is 10 m in diameter and 140 m long, reached 1 km of advancement in the digging process of the odd-numbered track tube of the 6.87 km-long, twin-tube Cefalù tunnel, early in May. Following completion, the tunnel is due to be lined with more than 43,000 segments and will house the future Cefalù underground station, while this is part of the track-doubling on the Ogliastrillo-Castelbuono section of the Palermo-Messina line.
Additionally, work is continuing on other fronts at the site, such as:
• the final lining of the single-bore, double-track S. Ambrogio tunnel (3,960 m), excavated in the traditional way and whose last wall was demolished on 20 December 2022;
• the S. Ambrogio Window (750 m), the construction of the entrance bulkhead on the Messina side of the Malpertugio tunnel;
• the excavation of the Malpertugio Tunnel (180 m) at the entrance on the Palermo side;
• the structural, geotechnical and hydraulic works in the area of the new Castelbuono Station.
The interference between different infrastructures (existing trackbed, new trackbed, existing road network to be diverted) and also the orography of an area characterised by unstable steep slopes close to the structures, are introducing the latter.
