Construction of Goetschka and Freistadt Tunnels

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The S10 is considered to be a crucial road connection for the Muehlviertel region. It will considerably enhance traffic safety in this area, create strong economic stimulus for the town of Freistadt and the Muehlviertel region and create a better traffic- and economy-related network between the region of Freistadt and the greater Linz area. The 22 km long southern section of the S10 will be fully developed as a highway and will include four lanes with an additional hard shoulder.

More than 40 % of the complete route runs through four tunnels and subsurface routes. During the planning phase, when the environmental impact of the project was reviewed, many measures were developed to either avoid or compensate for adverse effects along the track.

Goetschka Tunnel is largest single building contract in the history of ASFINAG

The Goetschka Tunnel is the largest single building contract in the history of Austria's ASFINAG highway authority. The double tube tunnel is being built on a length of approx. 4.4 km between the communities of Unterweitersdorf and Matzelsdorf north-east of Linz.

The eastern tube in the direction of Prague is being built with three lanes due to the ascending slope of up to 3.6 %: two regular lanes and one slow lane. The western tube in the direction of Linz will include two lanes. The two tunnel tubes with a total length of 8.8 km will be equipped with modern safety features. The axis-center distance of the two tunnel tubes measures between 17 and 45 m. Both tubes will be connected via a total of 17 crosscuts, four of which will also be accessible by emergency vehicles.

Some key technical details for the Goetschka Tunnel:

• Eastern tube: three lanes with a width of 11 m, length of 4,432.5 m and approx. 115 m² of excavation section
• Western tube: two lanes with a width of 7.50 m, length of 4,454 m and approx. 86.5 m² of excavation section

The maximum overburden in the tunnel area is 110 m. The total excavation material that is expected for both tunnel tubes is approx. 1.1 million m³, 300,000 m³ of which will be re-used in the tunnel. The Goetschka Tunnel leads through some demanding geological conditions, making excavation for the miners challenging. Excavation is carried out in accordance with the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM).

Special challenge at Goetschka Tunnel: Installation of 200 permanent strand anchors

The installation of 200 permanent 5-0.62" DYWIDAG Strand Anchors in lengths of 21 m at the breakdown bays in the 3-lane eastern tube posed a special challenge at Goetschka Tunnel. The anchors had to arrive at the tunnel site complete with a special foot plate that prevented the sliding out of the strands and sealed the borehole. The strand anchors for the breakdown bays were installed vertically using coils and a special mounting designed by Porr and then tensioned by DSI experts.

The completion of the project with its total length of 38 km was scheduled for end of 2015 and opened to traffic in time on 12 December.

DSI supplied lattice girders, SN Anchors with special rib geometry, steel spiles, tube spiles, hollow bar anchors including accessories, OMEGA-BOLT® Anchors and permanent strand anchors in lengths of 21 and 26 m. The products were used both for stabilizing the precuts and the excavation work for both the Goetschka and Freistadt Tunnels.