Pipe-jacking for drainage channel in Germany 01 Feb 2018

A drainage channel has been created to remove excess rainwater in a new residential area in the Black Forest in Germany with the help of a Herrenknecht microtunnelling machine for contractors Peter + Partner Rohrvortrieb on behalf of the city of Freudenstadt.

The Herrenknecht 1.1m diameter 75 kW machine excavated 146m through talus material consisting of mainly layered red sandstone, crossing under several railway tracks, to join the Sonnenhalde Süd residential area to the nearby Manbach stream as the two are separated by the main train station.

A gradient of 4.5% provided an additional challenge for the AVN800XC with mixed cutterhead and the tunnel was lined with 3m long reinforced concrete jacking pipes.

The drive was completed in just 3 weeks and the Herrenknecht machine was lifted out of the excavation pit by a mobile crane.

Excess rainwater can now be passed into the locally erected stormwater holding tank and released into the channel at a slower pace if necessary and the sewage network in Freudenstadt is now expanded and adapted to the needs of a growing city.