By Lynda Myer
Following months of preparatory work during the winter, work on the PERCA bypass has been started by the Joint Venture Strabag AG, Alpenbau GmbH, Unionbau AG and Moser & Co.
In order to advancing the digging process at the east adit of the tunnel, a two-arm Jumbo Bi-Arm which uses a combination of mechanical and digital innovations, and automates different phases of the excavation process, has been used. Hence it decreases human intervention during the work and also accelerates progress.
The Spittal an der Drau together with the Austrian company DSI Underground and the Swedish company Sandvik, are the manufactures of this machine in the Strabag technical laboratory. The Perca ring road includes a 2,317 m long tunnel, 632 m of which is due to be built in the open air. Moreover, there is an open section 358 m long that stretches from the western entrance to the village, while the route alignment will be partly downhill from Perca and partly uphill from the Val Pusteria state road, crossing underground at the most northern part of Vila di Sotto. The route rejoins the Val Pusteria state road at Nessano with an open section which will be 475 m long and the tunnel is going to be dug from both sides.
