Engineers are managing 7.7 million cubic metres of spoil in section H53 alone, utilizing a 30-kilometre conveyor belt system to bypass heavy lorry traffic through local Alpine communities.
Managing 7.7 Million Cubic Metres of Alpine Spoil in Section H53
To handle the massive volume of debris from the world’s longest railway tunnel, project manager Sebastian Reimann states that construction section H53 holds a landfill volume of 7.7 million cubic metres of excavated material. According to Reimann, four tunnel-boring machines advanced simultaneously underground during peak periods, bringing up more than 250,000 cubic metres of spoil every month. To prevent roughly 100 lorries per day from thundering through local village roads, engineers installed a massive conveyor belt system that reached up to 30 kilometres in length at its peak, moving rock chippings uphill from an exclusive underground access tunnel directly into the Padaster Valley.
Renaturing the Padaster Valley and Diverting the Padasterbach River
The Padasterbach river has been temporarily diverted through a specially built 1,500-metre tunnel to allow for the mega landfill, which has raised the old valley floor by 70 to nearly 80 metres, according to project officials. Andreas Ambrosi notes that while the area currently resembles a grey stony desert, the valley floor will eventually be covered with a thick layer of soil, trees, and shrubs. Work on renaturation is scheduled to begin next year once tunnel-boring machines halt, allowing the Padasterbach to return to a newly created winding riverbed flanked by mountain forest and pastures.
Did you know? The total volume of excavated material across the Brenner Base Tunnel project in Italy and Austria equals eight Cheops pyramids. Part of this rock is reused for concrete production, while the rest is distributed across landfills in the Padaster Valley, Ahrental, Ampass, Genauen, and Hinterrigger.
Protecting Alpine Biodiversity: Transplanting Orchids and Relocating Bats
Stringent environmental standards mandated by Tyrolean politicians require compliance with roughly 350 nature protection conditions, backed by extensive environmental impact assessments. According to project surveys, a 250-square-metre orchid meadow on the nutrient-poor rough grassland was successfully relocated prior to construction to a compensation area of the same size. Additionally, bat researchers identified seven bat species in the valley, including the protected brown long-eared bat, prompting the installation of numerous nesting boxes in nearby areas to facilitate safe roost changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Brenner Base Tunnel project?
The Brenner Base Tunnel is a multi-billion-euro cross-border railway project connecting Austria and Italy, designed to become the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Where does all the excavated rock go?
According to project managers, the 21.5 million cubic metres of excavated material is either reused for concrete production or placed in designated landfills such as the Padaster Valley, Ahrental, and Ampass, which will be fully renatured.
How is the rock transported without causing traffic?
Workers transport the crushed rock out of the mountain using an exclusive underground access ramp connected to a massive conveyor belt system that stretched up to 30 kilometres long.
What will happen to the Padaster Valley after construction?
Once construction finishes in roughly 10 years, the valley floor will be covered with soil, reforested, and planted with shrubs, allowing the diverted Padasterbach river to return to a new bed surrounded by hiking trails and ecological compensation areas.
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