- Current
As a specialist in managing and solving complex issues relating to excavation in urban areas, and assessing the geological and hydrogeological risks associated with the construction of complex underground structures, Geodata of Italy has found itself in much demand by project owners across the globe.
Since the company was established in 1984, Geodata has designed and supervised the construction of more than 3,500km of tunnels, and been involved in more than 2,500 projects. Today it is active in 25 countries, but its achievements on recent and ongoing metro projects in Brazil and Turkey stand out.
None more so than Geodata’s involvement in Lot 3 of Line 5 of the São Paulo Metro, for which, in November 2013, company President Piergiorgio Grasso was honoured by both the ABECE (Brazilian Association of Structural Engineering and Consultancy), and Brasfond. The award was in recognition of Geodata’s exceptional contribution to the project.
São Paulo Metro is the main rapid transit system in the city, and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America – only the Mexico City Metro and the Santiago Metro are larger. The 64-station São Paulo system is 74.2km in length, split into five lines.
The 11km extension of Line 5 from the southwest of the city to the expanded centre is designed to improve the mobility of public transport users in the Capão Redondo–Largo Treze Chácara Klabin corridor. Once completed, by 2016, Line 5 will be 20.1 km long, including 15 intermediate stations.
Geodata is in charge of the design of the civil works for all seven lots of the extension of the line, and for the follow-up during construction. The project being developed by Geodata includes excavation of approximately 11km of new line, excavated by a mix of NATM and TBM; 10 stations (Alto da Boa Vista, Borba Gato, Brooklin, Campo Belo, Eucaliptos, Moema, AACD-Servidor, Hospital São Paulo, Santa Cruz e Chácara Klabin); 10 shafts for ventilation and evacuation; a launch shaft for the two TBMs selected for excavation of the twin-tube, single-track part of the line; and another shaft that will serve as both a reception shaft for the first pair of TBMs as well as a launch shaft for a third TBM excavating the single-tube, double-track part of the line; and a maintenance depot.
This new extension, once completed, will interchange with Line 1 (Blue Line) at Santa Cruz Station, with Line 2 (Green Line) at Chácara Klabin Station, and with the future Line 17 (Gold Line) at Campo Belo Station.
Once fully operational the newly extended Line 5 will transport an estimated 770,000 passengers/day, feature four trains in simultaneous operation at peak times for a train frequency of one every 125 seconds. The new extension should boost the development of a number of areas along the Line 5 (Lilac Line) corridor, allowing greater numbers of people to access important business centres located in Largo Treze, av. Santo Amaro, av. Vereador Jose Diniz, av. Roque Petroni Junior, av. Morumbi, av. Marginal Pinheiros, as well as easy access to Moema, Ibirapuera, Vila Clementino, and Vila Mariana Malls.
In Istanbul, Turkey, Geodata is at the heart of underground activity to expand the metro network of a city that famously marks the dividing line between East and West – a city split in two, quite literally, by the Bosphorus.
Geodata is, and has been, involved in the construction of almost 56km of metro alignment and 45 new stations in the Turkish metropolis. With a population of 15 million, and still growing and expanding, Istanbul is characterised by a mixture of historic heritage, natural beauty and uncontrolled urbanisation.
Mobility is the biggest problem facing the city, with the Bosporus Strait separating the Anatolian from the European side of the city. To address the increasing and urgent demand for improved connectivity, a total of more than 130km of public transportation routes are under construction, including both metro and tram systems, all representing part of the very ambitious development program of the Turkish Government to bring into service more than 500km of new metro lines by 2025.
Geodata’s recent involvement dates back to construction of the Kadıköy–Kartal metro line, which runs broadly parallel to the E5 highway. At 21.7km long, and with 16 underground stations, the line crosses the densely populated Anatolian side of the city. Running completely underground at depths of between 20–40m, construction involved the use of all available tunnelling technologies including conventional methods, cut and cover and mechanised techniques. All the station platform and connection tunnels, the switch tunnels, and more than half the running tunnels were excavated using conventional tunnelling methods. The alignment also included nine crossover caverns and more than 20 access tunnels for the construction phase, some 60 shafts for ventilation and elevators near the stations, and several connection tunnels.
The underground stations are situated under the water table at an excavation depth of 20–32m in mixed ground conditions varying from weak alluvial deposits to competent rock. The excavated volume of each station is at least 90,000m3.
For its part, Geodata was in charge of NATM excavation of the main tunnels, crossover caverns, stations and technical spaces; construction follow-up to check design assumption; evaluation of construction risk; and optimisation of design solutions. The line entered into operation in August 2012.
Looking ahead, for the 12.5km-long Ümraniye–Ataşehir–Göztepe Line, including nine stations, and the 12.9km-long Dudullu–Bostancı Line, including 11 stations, Geodata’s scope of work includes: geological and geotechnical investigations; transport and urban studies; economic studies and cost-benefit analysis; environmental studies; definition of the alignment and design of the trackworks; architectural and functional design; structural design; design of E&M systems; design of railway plant; expropriations; detailed Construction Bill of Quantities (BoQ) and price analysis, technical specifications; and contractual documentation for the future construction tenders.
Located in the Anatolian side of Istanbul, both lines share a single depot which will also serve the Üsküdar–Çekmeköy Line which is already under construction. The two new lines, running north–south, run in parallel and integrate the metro-rail transport network of the city. They cross three lines on the east–west axis of the Anatolian part of the city: the Kadıköy–Kartal Line, the trans-European railway line (whose undersea Bosporus Tunnel was inaugurated in November 2014), and the Üsküdar–Çekmeköy Line. Construction of the two new lines should start in 2015, with completion scheduled for 2019.
Meanwhile, work continues ahead of planned construction of the 7.5km-long underground Kirazlı–Halkalı Line. Scope also includes 2.5km of viaduct and nine metro stations in the European side of Istanbul. Geodata will provide the client with transportation and route investigations, feasibility studies, and final design and preparation of the tender documents ahead of construction.
The line is planned for the corridor that starts from the existing Otogar–Bağcılar Kirazlı transfer station and ends at Marmaray Halkalı Station.
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