News

2024-11-06

Construction update: First section of new side tunnel finished

This week, the first section of the new side tunnel, the so-called FEAR tunnel, was completed, reaching a current length of approximately 20 meters. The complete FEAR tunnel will be 120 meters long. Parallel to the excavation work, 11 boreholes with a total length of around 190 metres were drilled.

The construction company, Consorzio Cristallina, started in June 2024 with a phase of drill-and-blast followed by a soft excavation phase. Both excavation methods and their influences on the surrounding rock are studied within the Precode project, lead by RWTH Aachen.
The FEAR project will now enter a first experimental phase starting in mid-November. From January 2025 on, we will continue with the side-tunnel expansion, involving 100 meters of drill-and-blast excavation. The FEAR tunnel is expected to be fully completed by summer 2025.