Case Study: The Coentunnel Project

Pictured below in the early stages of construction, the second Coentunnel is currently being built in Amsterdam to relieve the increasing traffic through the first Coentunnel. Over 100,000 cars pass through the tunnel daily where the motorway reduces from three to two lanes. The second Coentunnel will incorporate five extra lanes and will be positioned just ten to fifteen metres away from the original tunnel.

Source: Coentunnelcompany.nl

The Coentunnel Company, responsible for the entire project, will use a sunken method to construct the tunnel. Four elements are being fabricated on shore, each 180 metres long. They will be floated to site and positioned to an accuracy of 1 centimetre, before being connected. The construction of the tunnel is complicated as it is so close to the existing Coentunnel; a wall of hollow posts is planned to be placed between the two, prior to sinking the four elements. The entire project will span thirty years as the Coentunnel Company is due to renovate the first tunnel once the second is complete, and maintain both until 2037.

Want to learn more about the Coentunnel Project? Join the Tunnel Design & Construction Europe 2011 Conference and take part in the exclusive site visit of the Coentunnel! Check out the agenda for more information.