A Vinci-led consortium has won an €800m contract to deal with 23 million tonnes of spoil produced in the boring of the 45km French section of the Mont Cenis base tunnel under the Alps between France and Italy.
The 57.5km twin-tube tunnel will carry passenger and freight trains between Lyon and Turin faster than the existing, winding Alpine railway and roads.
It’s set to be the world’s longest railway tunnel.
Vinci said some 50% of the spoil would be reused.
The consortium’s processing site will include three permanent storage sites, three materials processing stations, eight logistics platforms, 15km of conveyor belts, and a train loading facility.
Undertaking the work are Vinci Construction subsidiaries Eurovia Alpes, project leader, Carrières du Bassin Rhônalpin, and Terélian.
Joining Vinci are two subsidiaries of cement giant Vicat – SATM and Granulats Vicat – along with Spie Batignolles Valérian and Spie Batignolles Malet.
The work is expected to take two years.
Elsewhere on the Tunnel Euroalpin Lyon-Turin, or TELT, Vinci Construction is digging 23km of twin-tube tunnel between Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte and Modane.
It’s also preparing for the construction of the Avrieux shafts near the future safety base at Modane and on the La Maddalena niches, on the Italian side of the Alps, to create lateral niches to widen the tunnel and reinforce the vault.
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