Strabag subsidiary Ed. Züblin has been awarded as lead JV member a €250M contract by Deutsche Bahn AG to build the 5.9 km Albabstieg Tunnel along the new Wendlingen–Ulm rail line in Germany. Eight bidding consortia participated in the Europe-wide tender for the construction contract.
“The Albabstieg Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the new Wendlingen–Ulm line leading from the Swabian Jura to the tracks at Ulm Central Station. While we will begin with the construction planning and preparations shortly, the start of the tunnelling works is planned for the spring of 2014,” explained Dr. Thomas Birtel, CEO of Strabag SE.
The tunnel, with a north portal in Dornstadt and a south portal in Ulm, will consist of two single-track bores 70m deep connected by eleven crosspassages at 500m intervals.The tunnelling works for both bores will take place simultaneously from two starting points: downhill from Dornstadt to the south and from an intermediate access tunnel from which both bores will be driven uphill to the north and downhill to the south toward Ulm.
The JV will move around 1.4Mm³ of soil and rock material during construction. The Albabstieg Tunnel is being built using drill and blast followed by sprayed concrete techniques before a waterproof membrane is applied followed by a final lining of in-situ concrete. Construction will last four-and-a-half years.
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