Squeezing ground at MITHOLZ

2004 Nov 15

Tunnellers driving the Mitholz adit in Switzerland unexpectedly encountered poor ground conditions some 1,400 metres beneath the Lötschen summit. The right solution was close at hand.

The determined tunnellers working on the Lötschberg tunnel project in western Switzerland are some six months ahead of schedule ? despite unexpected difficult ground conditions. Satco, a joint venture led by Strabag and comprised of Vinci, Skanska, Rothpletz & Lienhard and Walo Bertschinger, decided that speed and efficiency were the keys to success when they started work on the Mitholz adit. To meet those criteria, the join venture company is using drill rigs from Atlas Copco; three Rocket Boomer XL3 C?s are backed up by two Rocket Boomer L2 C twin-boom rigs, handling bolting, cross passage development and extraneous excavation.

Epiroc operated under the trademark “Atlas Copco” prior to January 1, 2018.