Austrian consultants iC consulenten has just completed the preliminary design for the 2.1km long Pinzano and the 340m long Gercia road tunnels in Italy.
The tunnels’ cross-section will conform to a C1-type, as per the Italian rules for motorway design. They will have a width of 13.2m and a height of 7.85m, giving them an excavated cross-section of about 104m2. An emergency access tunnel will also be constructed, with a cross-section of 57m2.
The bi-directional single bore tunnels will be constructed using NATM. A pedestrian emergency walkway will run along one side of the tunnel, protected by a barrier. The tunnels are expected to require an investment of about US$50M.
The client, Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia (the regional government) must now get permission for the alignment. Tender documents should be prepared by the end of 2003, with tenders for the construction going out at the beginning of 2004.
The tunnels will help to improve the capacity of the SS464 highway, which runs from Gemona in the east, to Sequals in the west. The region is one of Italy’s busiest, and the SS464 is subject to a major realignment involving several new tunnels, viaducts and interchanges.
