[3/8/2006 3]
The Citytunneln one year after start of construction
Today it is exactly one year since Prime Minister Göran Persson pushed the button and marked the beginning of construction of the Citytunnel project.
‘So far, everything has gone very well’, says Örjan Larsson, Citytunneln Project Manager. ‘We have kept pretty much to schedule, and the work has been well received by the people of Malmö for the changes the project means for the city’.
After years of surveys, pilot studies, and court proceedings, work on the Citytunnel actually started on 8 March last year, and a lot has happened since then. More than 800 000 m3 of soil, stone, and clay have been excavated at the project’s four main worksites - Malmö Central Station, Triangeln, Holma, and Hyllie.
Rock bottom
To the south, in the area that will become Malmö’s new city district, Hyllievång, work on new bridges has begun, as has the groundwork for Hyllie station, which will be the centre of the new district.
The project has also started, quite literally, to get down to rock bottom. The shaft at Holma has reached the level where the tunnel boring machinery can begin tunnelling towards Malmö Central Station, about 20 m underground.
At Triangeln, the shaft is 15 m deep and work will soon begin on the rock cavern in which the underground station will be built.
At Malmö Central Station, excavation has got down as far as the limestone layer, about 11 m below ground level. Excavations are also in progress at Västra station where the tunnel boring machines will finish their work towards the end of 2008.
Changing the city
In a single year, the face of the city has changed. For some of the people of Malmö, this has meant they have had to learn new routes through the city, and others have had to put up with a noisy worksite as a neighbour.
‘I think the traffic arrangements have worked well’, says Örjan Larsson. ‘There hasn’t been as much disruption as we expected. There also seems to be a positive feeling about the changes resulting from the work. This is certainly illustrated by the market surveys carried out for us by Temo’.
The project has also gone well from a technical viewpoint, he feels.
‘So far, everything has gone very well. We have kept pretty well to schedule for the project, and the work has been characterised by positive attitudes throughout. We have a good relationship with our partners, contractors, authorities, and everyone involved in the project.