[7/9/2007 1]
First large-scale contract completed
The contractor NCC has now handed over the first complete contract assignment, E302, for Malmö’s Citytunnel project. This comprises six railway bridges, a road bridge, a grade-separated rail intersection, a system for ground water lowering as well as land and water treatment works.
“We have kept to the project’s timetable and budget,” claims the Citytunnel’s project manager Örjan Larsson.
Two years and four months have passed since the start of construction of the City Tunnel. Now the first construction contract is complete - E302 Hyllie-Vintrie, earthwork and constructional work.
“We are very satisfied with the results. Everything has been completed on time and within budget. The construction work has also taken place safely, without serious accidents,” says Patrik Magnusson, project manager for the railway sub-project.
Major concrete works
This contract includes a large amount of concrete works. Just over 13 000 cu. m. of concrete and almost 1 500 tonnes of reinforcement iron have been used for the construction of the seven bridges and the grade-separated track intersection. The bridge over Sivåkersvägen was completed already last winter. Subsequently, the bridges over Lorensborgsgatan and Ekostråket were completed as well as the bridge for Blåsebergavägen and a smaller bridge over a service road. In the case of the grade-separated track intersection, the tracks westward and the eastward track to Ystad and the Continental Line are separated.
Ground water lowering
Part of the contract included the construction and commissioning of a system for permanent ground water lowering. This system lowers the ground water in those sections where the railway runs in lowered cuttings through the water being pumped up into output wells near the track. The water then undergoes re-infiltration into other wells a couple of hundred meters away. This method enables the impact on the ground water to be limited to an area near the track.
“Some 80 or so wells are part of the system that regulates and monitors the flow of ground water from output wells for re-infiltration. The control takes place automatically and the running-in of the system has gone very well,” states Patrik Magnusson.
I Bunkeflo and Vintrie compensation basins have been excavated and within the work area extensive planting works have been undertaken.
Timetable and budget kept
The budget for the entire project is SEK 9.45 billion according to the monetary value in 2001. This was the year that the agreement on the Citytunnel’s financing was concluded.
“All costs within the project are converted to the monetary value of that year to enable us to have a fixed index of value for comparison. So far we have managed to keep to budget,” says Örjan Larsson, the City Tunnel project manager.
A major contributory factor behind the budget for the City Tunnel being kept is time – since time is money.
“Within all major construction contracts the timetable is important. If deadlines can be met then costs can also be kept under control. At the same time one should also have a sense of modesty in such a large and complex project. The City Tunnel is far from being completed and much can still happen,” points out Örjan Larsson.
The Citytunnel projectin Malmö consists of 17 km of railway connecting Malmö Central Station with the Öresund Bridge, as well as linking up the Scania railway network and increasing rail traffic capacity for the future. Six km passes underneath central Malmö, and the other 11 km is surface railway.
Malmö Central Station is being extended with an underground section. New stations are being built at Triangeln and Hyllie.
The Citytunnel is planned to be complete in 2011.