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Tegel Airport Tunnel - A 111 Technical Repair and Renovation of the Operating and Traffic Technology

As part of the federal motorway A 111 the tunnel underpasses parts of the take-off and landing runways of Tegel Airport. The two-cell frame in reinforced concrete comprises 36 slackly reinforced blocks, which are usually 30 m long and 23 m wide. The entire tunnel lies up to 4 m in groundwater. The outer seal for the tunnel was an all-round bituminous one consisting of at least 3 layers of pure bituminous membrane R500/30. The block joints were designed as contraction joints with a bituminous membrane R500/30 and 3 mm joint widths. The differences in temperature within the tunnel varying from around +25 to -20° C led to joint movements of 15 to 20 mm given a 30 m block length. The bituminous seal located on the outside was unable to sustain such major movements at the contraction joints and a large number of joints failed resulting in substantial leakages. In winter the outcome was that lanes had to be partially closed as groundwater increasingly penetrated through the damaged block joints and froze. The incorporation of the tunnel in the groundwater and the fact that it was in part beneath Tegel Airport's take-off and landing runways precluded the sealing being repaired from the outside. As a result it was intended to provide each block joint with a continuous dowelled joint strip from the Inside. In conjunction with the STUVA the contractor developed for the floor area a version in the form of a concreted elastomer joint strip with a special juncture in the wall area. A model, on which the floor/ wall intersection was presented, served to provide a better assessment of the structure. Prior to execution two specimen joints were created under site conditions and cut up into individual segments after the self-compacting concrete had set. In this way work sequences were tried out in practice in advance and the complete void free Integration of the joint strip checked. Detailed instructions were provided for the execution phase that followed. The new joint seal for the wall and ceiling area was carried out as planned by means of a flanged-on inner elastomer joint strip FMG 350. Exact precision work was required for installing the joint strip at the recess for the cableways in the outer walls of the tunnel. Structural fire protection class F90 was attained for the walls with a 6 cm t hick shotcrete layer and for the ceilings with dowelled fire protection panels. The renovation of the tunnel as well as the trough sections in constructional, operational and traffic technical terms completely complies with RABT 2006 specifications and is geared to the general conditions applying to the existing structure. This includes the revamping of the escape ways and renovation of the barriers, evacuation doors, hydrant line, lighting, ventilation, emergency call booths, video cameras, fire detection, tunnel radio system as well as lane switching system and direction signs. The Tegel Airport Tunnel was awarded a "very good" rating in the ADAC 2009Tunnel Test.

 

  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Berlin
  • Tunnel utilization: Traffic
  • Type of utilization: Road Tunnel
  • Client: Federal Republic of Germany - Land of Berlin
  • Consulting Engineer: DEGAS/Brendel Ingenieure/VIA
  • Test engineer: Schmitt Stumpf Frühauf
  • Construction monitoring: Asphalta/EHS/IGV, Brendel Ingenieure/VIA
  • Contractor: Hochtief Construction/Trapp Infra (construction technology); Weiss-Eiectronic/Siemens/Cegelec/Dürr (traffic and operating technology)
  • Main construction method: Maintenance (construction, operating, traffic)
  • No. of tubes: 1
  • Tunnel total length: approx. 1,000 m
  • Width per tube: 10.50 m
  • Contract Volume: 29.8 mill. Euro (construction technology), 8.5 mill. Euro (operating technology), 4.5 mill. Euro (traffic technology)
  • Construction start/end: 2006-2008 (18 months)
  • Completion: June 2008
  • Opening: 1979