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Tiergartentunnel B 96 Berlin

To handle future traffic demands Berlin not only has to reconstruct and upgrade its railway network but also to find new ways of routing its road traffic. Access and circulation are needed for the parliament and government precinct in the Spreebogen as well as for the new development schemes around Potsdamer Platz and Lehrter Bahnhof. The B 96 federal road which runs from north to south through the city will, therefore, no longer proceed above ground at this point - as it does at present – but will run underground through a tunnel parallel to the new underground railway lines which are being installed in the heart of the city. This underground road tunnel will be 2.4 km long and have 4 entry and exit ramps. In the main section of the tunnel there will be two lanes and a hard shoulder in each direction. The tunnel will have a clearance width of 10.5 m. ln the northern and southern sections of the tunnel and the entry and exit ramps the number of lanes will be adjusted to the volume of traffic. A maximum of around 5,000 vehicles will pass through the tunnel per hour with the daily average being around 60,000 vehicles. Among the structural elements it incorporates are:

  • 3 underground buildings needed to supply the tunnel with electrical energy and to dispose of rainwater
  • 2 air evacuation facilities with chimneys up to 45 m high to remove exhaust air from the tunnel,
  • emergency stairways capable of being used as escape routes
  • a lorry loading area beneath the tunnel needed for the new debis buildings on Potsdamer Platz
  • an entrance and exit to the basement levels of the Sony building
  • an entrance and exit from the underground car park at Lehrter Bahnhof.
  • Country: Germany
  • Region: Berlin
  • Tunnel utilization: Traffic
  • Type of utilization: Road tunnel
  • Client: Senatsverwaltung für Bauen, Wohnen und Verkehr, Berlin
  • Consulting Engineer: Emch + Berger, Schüßler-Plan, DE-Consult
  • Contractor: Strabag Hoch- und Ingenieurbau AG, Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, Tb Berliner Tief- und verkehrsbau GmbH
  • Main construction method: Open
  • Type of excavation: Wall/sole construction
  • No. of tubes: 1 (1+2, center wall)
  • Tunnel total length: 2.4 km
  • Cross-section: Clear height 5.0 m, Clear width 10.5 m; Reinforced concrete frame construction with two separated tubes; Total width: 23.4 m
  • Contract Volume: 730 mill. DM
  • Construction start/end: 84 months
  • Opening: Oct. 2003