CONSTRUCTION of Switzerland's 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel reached a milestone on June 16, with the breakthrough of tunnel boring machines on the Erstfeld-Amsteg section. Gabi 1, one of the two tunnel-boring machines at work on this section, cut through 7.2km of rock in just 18 months, six months less than anticipated.
CONSTRUCTION of Switzerland's 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel reached a milestone on June 16, with the breakthrough of tunnel boring machines on the Erstfeld-Amsteg section. Gabi 1, one of the two tunnel-boring machines at work on this section, cut through 7.2km of rock in just 18 months, six months less than anticipated.
A total of 133 km, 87% of the twin-bore Gotthard tunnel has now been
completed. The final breakthrough between Sedrun and Faido is scheduled
for the beginning of 2011, and the tunnel will open to traffic in 2017.
