News
Opening Up of Serrières A5 Motorway Tunnel, Neuchâtel
Published on 22.01.2010
After ten months’ work across almost 820m, on Friday 22 January 2010 the miners drove the calotte* of the north tube of the Serrières Tunnel, west of Neuchâtel. The roadheader, with its cutting head fitted with steel spikes, successfully knocked down the last remaining section of rock separating the Auvernier hill from the Serrières bay.
On this occasion, the project stakeholders and local residents gathered to celebrate this milestone. In his speech Claude Nicati, State Councillor and Head of the Land Use Planning Department, noted the project’s smooth progress and thanked the people involved, including the Cats consortium (Infra Tunnel SA and Spie Batignolles TPCI) in charge of the works, and the principals of the Auvernier-Serrières engineering group (Grease), made up of gvh civil engineers, BG Consulting Engineers, FMN engineers – a subsidiary of the BG Group since 2009 - and J.-P. Thuillard.
After this opening, the works continue with excavation of the bench and invert of the tunnel’s north tube, simultaneously with excavation of the 770m-long south tube. Subsequent works will include the tubes’ concrete lining, implementation of the interior fittings and electromechanical equipment, without forgetting construction of the cut-and-cover at each end of the underground structure.
The tunnel should start-up by the end of 2013, at which point it will adequately channel traffic flows in this area with a high population density and strong industrial base, while protecting the residents as well as the environment. Indeed, some 40,000 vehicles use this road section every day.
BG were involved in designing the project and construction plans, and are on site as heads of local works supervision in the framework of the Grease engineering group.
*top part of a tunnel tube
Subscribe to