TBM Mireille excavated the more than 1km-long Caterina Tunnel through challenging geology.
The 10m-diameter machine was previously deployed on the Grand Paris Express and is the first TBM refurbished at Webuild’s facility in Umbria.
TBM Mireille will now be relocated 400m to the future entrance to the Sicignano Tunnel, where she will excavate a section more than 2.5km long.
Three other TBMs – Partenope, Leucosia, and Ligea – are also working on Lot 1A. With cutterheads of more than 13m diameter, they are the largest TBMs Webuild has in operation in Europe.
Partenope is excavating the 3km-long Saginara Tunnel between Campagna and Contursi Terme; Leucosia is building the Serra Lunga Tunnel (over 800m) before heading to the Acerra (250m) and Petrolla (over 1.2km) tunnels; while Ligea is excavating the Piano Grasso Tunnel (2.2km) before starting on the Contursi Tunnel (1.5km).
Excavation of the 450m-long Cerreta Tunnel is also progressing using traditional methods.
In addition, abutments and piers of the future viaducts are being constructed ahead of the launch of the steel decks that will allow the TBMs to move between launch sites.
Xenia Consortium comprises Webuild, Pizzarotti, Ghella, and Tunnel Pro. Lot 1A, a 35km-long section between Battipaglia and Romagnano in the province of Salerno, includes the construction of 20 tunnels – eight, totalling 4km, excavated using the four TBMs – and 19 viaducts.
The Salerno–Reggio Calabria line will connect southern Italy with northern Italy and Europe. The RFI project will be a strategic axis of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
