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Tiergarten Spreebogen Tunnel - B 96

In order to overcome the traffic problems facing the capital Berlin solutions relating to the road network had to be found in addition to rebuilding the railway system. These two essential tasks were linked together in the "Traffic Facilities in the Central Area" (VZB) project. Apart from the road tunnel for the B 96 federal highway the traffic facilities largely constituted the building of tunnels for mainline and regional trains as well as two sections for the planned U 3 and U 5 Metro lines. For the parliament and government district in the “Spreebogen”  Berlin's new Main Station and the Potsdamer Platz area a tunnel solution was applied for the B 96, which runs from north to south, in the scope of accomplishing the VZB. The section to be rebuilt was altogether 2.9 km long including the trough sections. Between the Invalidenstraße and Kemperplatz junctions the tunnel has two lanes plus hard shoulders in each direction. The Heidestraße and Kanaluferstraße junctions are reached via single lanes. At the Invalidenstraße, Kemperplatz, the Sony basement, DaimlerChrysler and the DB underground garage the tunnel cross-sections were enlarged in such a way that the required slip lanes were produced. The complete construction measure was undertaken by cut-and-cover mainly using the wall/floor construction method. Underwater concrete, jet grouting and soft gel floors were applied so that groundwater lowering could be renounced as far as possible. The tunnel crosses the River Spree at a width of 110 m. It was not possible to "undertunnel" the Spree on account of the shallow location of the tunnel facilities. These tunnel sections thus had to be produced in a joint open excavation pit. The tunnel ceiling's upper edge is located 1.0 m below the bed of the Spree and was thus covered with a steel plate to protect it from being damaged by anchors being dropped, the effect of dredgers or possibly even a ship sinking. A special feature of the tunnel is that it has to harmonise with the urban backdrop. The tunnel has various connections for the loading zones of the Sony and DaimlerChrysler Investor Centre. At Potsdamer Platz and the Main Station access and exit lanes between the tunnel and the underground garage were provided. Roughwork activities began in 1995. Owing to the interrelationships in terms of constructional progress completion depended on how work fared at the Main Station. Delays in building the new Main Station also led to hold-ups in accomplishing the road tunnel in its carcass state. The final tunnel segment was completed in December 2003; the Invalidenstraße ramp in April 2005. The concrete floor below the Potsdamer Platz (Musical Theater) is dynamically bedded on "rubber cushions" so that vibrations are kept away from the buildings located above. The road tunnel for the B 96 is characterised by the fact that it runs as an inner urban directional tunnel over a distance of 2.4 km, provides access to private residents via several entrances and exits and facilitates various traffic modes. As a consequence for the safe operation of the road tunnel constructional and traffic technical facilities are available that exceed those require for a normal road. Requirements on operational and traffic technical installations in keeping with the valid RABT were fully applied in order to attain a high as possible standard of safety for the inner urban structure.

 

  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Berlin, Central Area
  • Tunnel utilization: Traffic
  • Type of utilization: Road Tunnel and Access for Buildings
  • Client: Land of Berlin
  • Consulting Engineer: Ingenieurgemeinschaft Verkehrsanlagen Zentraler Bereich. IVZ/VIA
  • Contractor: Hochtief, Strabag, Spie, Bauer, Brückner Weiss Electronic, Siemens
  • Main construction method: Open
  • Type of excavation: Cut-and-cover/Wall-floor construction method
  • No. of tubes: 1
  • Tunnel total length: 2,400 m
  • Cross-section: 23.40 m (wide, total), 10.50 m (clear width per tube)
  • Contract Volume: approx. 348 mill. Euro (roughwork), approx. 42 mill. Euro (operating technology)
  • Construction start/end: November 1995 till 2003 (roughwork), 2004/2005 (operating technology)
  • Opening: March 26th, 2005