Italian JV wins Jonica coastal highway contractJan 2012
Peter Kenyon, TunnelTalk
Fig 1. Jonica SS-106 Highway is broken down into 12 Megalots
The Astaldi/Impregilo JV is awarded the €791 million design-build contract to construct a 30km stretch of Italy's ambitious €19 billion Jonica SS-106 State Highway.
The Sibari-Roseto contract – which forms Megalot-3 of a 491km coastal highway running from Taranto in the northwest coastal region to Reggio di Calabria on Italy's southeastern tip at the Messina Straits, comprises 13km of tunnels, 20km of embankments and 5km of viaducts.
The contract is awarded by Italy's state highway agency ANAS, and includes 15 months of detailed design work to be followed by a further six years and five months of construction, for a scheduled completion date of late 2019. Astaldi has a 60% share in the contract, Impregilo 40%.
Both companies in the winning JV are involved in other sections of the overall project that have already been let out.
The project in its entirety is broken down into 12 main Megalots, plus a series of smaller locality-based lots and shorter bypass stretches (Fig 1). Those sections already under construction are marked in yellow on the map. Megalot-3 is marked in the longer light blue section.
Astaldi is currently involved in the construction of Megalot-1 in the Siderno region and Megalot-2 (both in JV with Nino-Ferrari) in the Catanzaro region. Together these form a total length of 40km, incorporating 18 tunnels, for a total contract value of €800 million.
Both lots are at an advanced stage of completion, and are due to be opened fully in 2013. All the tunnels in these sections are twin tube drill+blast and feature an excavated section of 13.04 x 10.95m.
Impregilo is involved in the construction of Megalot-5 and Megalot-6, which comprises the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway from Gioia Tauro to Campo Calabro. These lots are expected to be completed in 2013. Megalots 8, 9, and 10, which are anticipated to be worth €2.6 billion, €2.1 billion and €3.2 billion respectively, are planned to include a total of 56km of tunnels, the longest single one likely to be one of 3km on the Crotone-Mandatoriccio stretch.
Table 1. A breakdown of the 12 Megalots for Italy's Jonica Highway, with tunnelling distances.
Megalot
Location
Total km
Tunnel (km)
Length (no.) of tunnels
1*
S.Ilario-Gioiosa
17
9.5
296-1,818m (7)
2*
Squillace-Simeri
23
13
187-1,313m (11)
3**
Sibari-Roseto
38
13
Unconfirmed
4
SA/RC Firmo-SS106 Sibari
14
5
Pellaro-Melito
24
6
Simeri-Le Castella
36
7
Roccella-Transv. Serre
43
8
Mandatoriccio-Sibari
53
19
90-1,410m
9
Crotone-Mandatoriccio
71
16
80-2,920m
10
Melito-Bova and Palizzi-S.Ilario
53
21
40-1,800m (39)
11
Transv. Serre-Squillace-Le Castella-Crotone
22
12
Tangenziale-Reggio di Calabria
15
*=Under construction, **=Contract awarded to Astaldi/Impregilo JV
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