St. Gotthard Base Tunnel Switzerland - Essay Example

the railroad is completely flat (en.rian.ru, 2011). It was built to integrate the nation into a modern rail network and is a part of the Alp Transit Railway Project which can afford the citizens the ease to travel in a better and faster manner. The tunnel site was filled with hard rocks posing a significant challenge to the excavation staff and causing an immense disturbance in the surrounding area (Leung, Zhou, 2006: 153). It is known to be one of the greatest feats of engineering considering the fact that it was built at 4000 feet above sea level, on an uneven route comprising of steep gradients and sharp curves, and exposed to dangerous environments which included snow and avalanches.

Furthermore, it was built under a mountain range that is nearly 8000 to 11000 feet high (Williams, 1968: 176). It took almost fifteen years to construct this spectacular engineering feat, costing billions of dollars. The construction of this tunnel is not only a significant engineering achievement but is also laudable for its major contribution to easing traffic and connecting various areas by enabling road transport at a cheaper and faster rate. However, various problems were encountered during and after the construction of this tunnel, which presents a significant opportunity for study, and the same is discussed in the following sections.

Figure 1: St. Gotthard Base Tunnel – Geographic location Source: World Records (2011) Geological setting The St. Gotthard Base Tunnel, as mentioned in the previous section is one of the largest tunnels in the world and is constructed in the Alpine mountain range. The construction of a tunnel of this magnitude and length entails the application of special state-of-the-art techniques and technology. The tunnel was divided into five sections depending on the geological structure of the site. These five sections include Erstfeld, Amsteg, Sedrun, Faido, and Bodio which were approximately 7.4 km, 11.4 km, 6.8 km, 14.6 km, and 16.

6 km in length, respectively (as shown in Figure 3 below). Boring machines were used in all the sections other than in the Sedrun section, where the conventional blasting technique was used since the rock formation in that area was highly unstable and could have posed a significant danger (NA, 2011). Figure 2: Geographical Setting Figure 3: Sedrun Tunnel The method applied for tunneling depends largely on the rock type in the area in which the tunnels are being constructed. Thus, it is of utmost significance for the engineers to devise various alternate strategies for tunneling and align the same with the rock types encountered by them on site.