Skip to main content

Building the Pfänder tunnes

The second tube of the Pfänder Tunnel, Bregenz, Austria, where the new main tunnel has been excavated using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), is being constructed by Alpine BeMo Tunnelling. Tubbings have been installed as the inner tunnel lining, and as part of concreting for the inner shell, the FQ 1 crosscut, suitable for vehicles, is being constructed using a tunnel formwork carriage designed and supplied by PERI.
April 11, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The high proportion of system components provided a cost-effective solution for the short tunnel structure
The second tube of the Pfänder Tunnel, Bregenz, Austria, where the new main tunnel has been excavated using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), is being constructed by Alpine BeMo Tunnelling.

Tubbings have been installed as the inner tunnel lining, and as part of concreting for the inner shell, the FQ 1 crosscut, suitable for vehicles, is being constructed using a tunnel formwork carriage designed and supplied by 298 PERI.

The existing Pfänder Tunnel, commissioned some 30 years ago, cannot cope with the increase in the traffic volumes, so the parallel, two-lane tube is being constructed. Over 14 months, the almost-12m diameter TBM drilled 6,600m through the Pfänder Mountains to form the main tunnel, which was lined with precast segments.

In case of fire, 31 connecting passageways between the old and new tunnel tubes for evacuation purposes are planned. For the most important, the 43.1m long FQ 1 crosscut, PERI created a tailored formwork solution consisting mainly of rentable VARIOKIT system components. The other crosscuts will have shotcreted inner shells.

A total of seven round-shaped wall formwork elements were prefabricated by PERI and supplied just-in-time to the construction site, thus minimising assembly time. After only 1.5 weeks of on site assembly, the construction tea

started work on the segments, with standard lengths of 5.9m. After a short period of introduction, a three day cycle could be achieved for these sections. Construction of the last two 3.35m long segments required two days respectively.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Innovative new drainage solutions will help keep roads free from water
    October 2, 2014
    An array of new technologies will help optimise road drainage and minimise flooding risks - Mike Woof reports In the UK the specialist contractor Lanes Group has carried out extensive inspection work of the drainage systems for the M6 toll route around the city of Birmingham. A powerful zoom camera has been used to carry out the inspection work for Midland Expressway, which operates and maintains the 43km-long motorway, running from Coleshill to Cannock.
  • São Paulo's landmark bridge construction
    February 21, 2012
    To improve access from the east to São Paulo city centre, main contractor Construbase Engenharia is building a road complex comprising three viaducts and access ramps. The greatest challenge in Brazil's largest city is the showpiece Padre Adelino viaduct, a 122m long single-arch, single-span, cable-stayed concrete bridge moulded in situ with a parabola-shaped arch and a single-cell post-tensioned cantilever caisson
  • Bauer’s BG 30, part of the rig manufacturer’s ValueLine platform
    March 7, 2016
    Bauer Maschinen is presenting a new generation of its ValueLine, a medium-sized platform range for bored piles with a diameter of up to 2.5m and a drilling depth of up to 70m. The platform range includes the BG 26 as the lowest priced-model and the larger version, the BG 30. The core element of the medium-sized platform range is the joint BT base carrier, which was entirely designed and constructed by Bauer. The modern and highly functional support does not just score points for its high safety standa
  • Bauer’s BG 30, part of the rig manufacturer’s ValueLine platform
    January 6, 2017
    Bauer Maschinen is presenting a new generation of its ValueLine, a medium-sized platform range for bored piles with a diameter of up to 2.5m and a drilling depth of up to 70m. The platform range includes the BG 26 as the lowest priced-model and the larger version, the BG 30. The core element of the medium-sized platform range is the joint BT base carrier, which was entirely designed and constructed by Bauer. The modern and highly functional support does not just score points for its high safety standa