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| Strabag consortium wins contract for main section Tulfes–Pfons in Tyrol  Following expiry of the legally prescribed deadline for objections, the bidding consortium consisting of Strabag and Salini Impregilo has officially been awarded the largest contract section to date for the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT). For a contract value of about € 380 million, the consortium will build the twin-tube rail tunnel between Tulfes and Pfons as well as a section of the exploratory tunnel, the new rescue tunnel running parallel to the existing Innsbruck bypass, and two connecting side tunnels. The construction time for the approximately 38 tunnel kilometres is scheduled at 55 months, with work set to begin in the second half of 2014.The BBT, the heart of the new rail connection between Munich and Verona, runs for 55 km between Innsbruck and Franzensfeste (Fortezza). Including the existing Innsbruck bypass, which will connect with the BBT, the stretch of tunnel through the Alps comes to a total of 64 km, making it the longest underground railway connection in the world. The BBT consists of two single-track tubes, each 8.1 m wide, at a distance of 70 m from one another. The two tubes are linked at every 333 m through connecting side tunnels as escape routes in emergencies. The nearly horizontal stretch of tunnel avoids the gradients of the existing, more than 140-year-old Brenner Railway. The total cost for the project, which is to be completed in 2025, is estimated at € 8.6 billion. Strabag AG has been working on the TEN-1 axis (Trans-European Networks, Berlin–Bologna) since construction began in the year 2000 on the new 41 km Lower Inn Valley railway, where, with responsibility for the technical aspects of the project, the company built the exploratory tunnels as well as the core elements of the main contract sections. Since 2009, Strabag AG has been awarded most of the contract sections for the preliminary works for the BBT – approx. 9.5 km of exploratory tunnels, access tunnels, shafts and underground structures – and has proved its qualifications as a technical leader under geologically difficult conditions. The Tulfes–Pfons section not only represents an extension to the south of the exploratory tunnels that were built as part of the preliminary works but will also close the gap between the Inn Valley Tunnel, completed in 1994, and the main BBT tubes around Ahrental. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Construction News :: home page |