Sections of the Swiss alpine A 2 highway that lead towards
the famous Gotthard tunnel were renovated recently, using advanced Swedish robotic and
aquademolition techniques.
Access to the mountainside galleries that protect sections
of the highway against avalanches and rock slides is highly restricted. The reinforced
concrete pillars that hold up the galleries, the roofs, sides, and portions of the surface
had been heavily damaged over the years by corrosion, chloride, and the wear and tear of
daily traffic. High-pressure hydrodemolition units, using water pumped directly from the
river below and guided precisely by programmed robots, were used to work in the sensitive
environment.
The robots operated in a fully automatic mode on all sides
of the pillars and support structures, removing the damaged concrete to a pre-set depth
with no harm to the remaining structure. The reinforcements were exposed and cleaned by
the water jets.
After the casting of the new concrete was completed on
site, the pillars were wrapped with steel plates for corrosion protection. The concrete
required by the project was placed by wet shotcreting and by cast in-situ methods.
The water consumed by the five aquacutter robots of
different models and their respective power packs was collected after use and channeled to
a treatment module, where it was cleaned and pH neutralized before being released back
into the river.
Return To International Focus
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
