Gdansk accepts TBM for vital river crossingOct 2012
Herrenknecht News Release
The TBM that will excavate the 1.4km road crossing of the Vistula River in Gdansk, Poland, is delivered by Herrenknecht of Germany.
Client OHL (Spain) and project owner GIK accepted the 12.56m diameter mixshield machine at a ceremony in Schwanau. This will be the largest machine OHL has operated.
OHL (client) and GIK (owner) representatives take delivery of the 12.56m TBM for Gdansk, Poland
A tough drive awaits. Herrenknecht project manager Peter Griesbach said: "At certain points there will be only about 8m above the machine to the bottom of the river."
Table 1. Slowacki Tunnel TBM
Machine data
Project Data
Type
Mixshield
Appllication
Road tunnel
Shield diameter
12.56m
Project owner
GIK
Max. operating pressure
4 bar
Customer
OHL (Obrascon Huarte Lain)
Rated torque
16,841kNm
Tunnel length
2 x 1,076m
Total weight
2,200 tonne
Geology
Sand, gravel
Total length
91m
Overburden
8-21.5m
"The machine will be sealed against penetrating groundwater or subsoil at pressures of up to 4 bar: between the shield skin and lining segment with a triple wire brush seal, and a quadruple sealing system on the drive. The equipment was designed in such a way that tunnelling can also be carried out on the steep four per cent downward and upward gradients at the beginning and in the second half of the tunnel."
As part of the contract Herrenknecht Formwork will produce the moulds for the segments as well as additional equipment including seperation plant and pumps for slurry circulation in the tunnel, the compressor station and the VMT navigation system. Herrenknecht will also support the project with specialists during on-site assembly of the machine through to completion.
The crossing forms an integral part of the 10km Slowacki road route that will link Gdansk's Lech Walesa Airport and the city's deep water seaport, which is one of the most important ports serving eastern Europe. The crossing will run 8-35m below the river bed, with the TBM-bored tubes each measuring 1.07km in length.
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