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Mündener Tunnel

The Münden Tunnel is sited close to the town of Münden, to the south of the deeply furrowed Werratal directly alongside the bridge of the A 7 motorway following a short pre-cut. The northern section of the Münden Tunnel is located in the upper part of Middle Variegated Sandstone, the Solling series and the Hardegsen series. Thrusts and faults were encountered, where leaps had occurred varying from a few decimetres to metres. The rock is friable and in some places, subject to heavy pressure. The Steinbachtal is located roughly halfway along the Münden Tunnel. Originally, it was intended to cross this valley via a pre-stressed concrete bridge, which would have resulted in two smaller tunnels being built instead of the longer Münden Tunnel. However, as this section of the route is situated in a nature park, new plans were drawn up at the behest of those affected. This resulted in the gradient in this area being lowered by some 35 m so that the Steinbachtal could be undercut with a tunnel with a minimum roof overcapping of roughly 2 m. The drive was carried out from three simultaneous points of attack. An intermediate point of attack was created at the tunnel centre in the Steinbachtal. From which drives were undertaken in a northern and southern direction. The maximum roof overburden is 170 m. Tunnelling Operations were embarked on in April 1985. A counter-drive in the crown was started from the Werra over a distance of some 500 m. The intermediate point of attack in the Steinbachtal was developed as an emergency exit and as an access for maintenance purposes. The base was secured by means of a flat convex support except at the entry zones, where a strong convex base was required. The inner shell is largely 30 cm thick. A plastic membrane between inner and outer shell seals the tunnel against seepage water. The entire southern section of the Münden Tunnel was driven in the Hardegsden series of Middle Variegated Sandstone. Driving was executed on the rise from south to north. Tunnelling operations commenced in October 1983.

 

  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Niedersachsen
  • Tunnel utilization: Traffic
  • Type of utilization: Main-line rail
  • Client: Deutsche Bahn AG
  • Main construction method: Trenchless
  • Type of excavation: Drill & Blast
  • No. of tubes: 1
  • Tunnel total length: 10 525 m
  • Cross-section: 124 m²
  • Contract Volume: 240 mill. DM
  • Construction start/end: 1983-1989 (60 months)
  • Opening: 1989