Ceremonies mark ground-breaking for second Gotthard road tunnel

The celebrations took place at the two ends of the tunnel – Göschenen and Airolo. Representatives of FEDRO, the entire government of Ticino canton, neighbouring communities, invited guests and companies, including contractor Implenia, were present at an event which had been delayed since Spring 2021 due to Covid.

Important preparatory work had already begun, including relocation of entrances to the service and main tunnels; construction of access tunnels in Göschenen and Airolo; and access to the construction site in the Stalvedro area.

Implenia has started tunnelling and civil engineering work on the two preparatory lots ‘Relocation of the north safety tunnel (Lot 242)’ and ‘North access shaft and logistics excavations (Lot 243)’. The company was awarded both contracts a few months ago worth a combined total of around US$108m. For Lot 243, it leads the Second Tube Joint Venture with a 40% share, in partnership with Webuild (40%) and Frutiger (20%).

Allocating the preparatory lots of the Gotthard second road tube preceded publication of the invitation to tender for the two large main lots (north and south) by several months. The bids for these will be submitted in November 2021, with contracts expected to be awarded in the second quarter of 2022.