Not exactly caving, but I just read that
the world's longest tunnel has just broken
through in Switzerland. It's 57 km
long! Article
below.
<http://www.rdmag.com/News/2010/10/Manufacturing-Machinery-Joyous-Swiss-celebrate-longest-tunnel-breakthrough/>
Mark
Joyous Swiss celebrate longest tunnel breakthrough
By Frank Jordans, Associated Press Writer
Friday, October 15, 2010
SEDRUN, Switzerland (AP) Swiss engineers
smashed through the last stretch of rock Friday
to create the world's longest tunnel, sparking a
national groundswell of elation over a costly,
technically difficult project that has been 60 years in the making.
Trumpets sounded, cheers reverberated and even
burly workers wiped away tears as foreman Eduard
Baer lifted a statue of Saint Barbara the
patron saint of miners through a small hole in
the enormous drilling machine thousands of feet
(meters) underground in central Switzerland.
At that moment, a 35.4-mile (57-kilometer) tunnel
was born, and the Alpine nation reclaimed the
record from Japan's Seikan Tunnel. Television
stations across Europe showed the event live.
"This is the most wonderful moment in my 36 years
of tunnel building," Baer said as he paused for
breath, surrounded by joyous colleagues in
hardhats and bright orange work gear, VIPs and news cameras.
The new Gotthard Base Tunnel is seen as an
important milestone in the creation of a
high-speed transportation network connecting all corners of Europe.
First conceived in 1947 by engineer Eduard
Gruner, it will allow millions of tons of goods
that are currently transported through the Alps
on heavy trucks to be shifted onto the rails,
particularly on the economically important link
between the Dutch port of Rotterdam and Italy's Mediterranean port of Genoa.
The tunnel also aims to reduce the damage that
heavy trucks are inflicting on Switzerland's pristine Alpine landscape.
Peter Fueglistaler, director of the Swiss Federal
Office of Transport, called Friday "a day of joy for Switzerland."
"We are not a very emotional people but if we
have the longest tunnel in the world, this also
for us is very, very emotional" he told The Associated Press.
Some 2,500 workers have spent nearly 20 years
smashing through the rock beneath the towering
Gotthard massif, including the 8,200-foot
(2,500-meter) Piz Vatgira (Vatgira Peak).
When the $10 billion tunnel opens for rail
traffic in 2017, it will replace Japan's
33.5-mile (53.6-kilometer) Seikan Tunnel as the
world's longest excluding aqueducts and let
passenger and cargo trains pass under the Alps at
speeds of up to 155 mph (250 kph) on their way from Germany to Italy.
Swiss voters, who are paying over $1,300 each to
fund the project, approved its construction in a
series of referendums almost 20 years ago.
European transport ministers watched the
breakthrough ceremony live from a meeting in
Luxembourg, conscious that Switzerland has set
the bar very high for future cross-Alpine rail
projects. Two further tunnels one connecting
connect Lyon, France, to Turin in Italy, and the
other replacing the Brenner road tunnel between
Austria and Italy are still a long way from completion.
Swiss engineers are hoping to complete the rail
tunnel even sooner than planned possibly by the
end of 2016 but its first high-speed trains
could be delayed by protests in Germany and
Italy, where local opposition to new tracks and
budget constraints have become an issue in recent months.
"Our neighbors in Germany and Italy will have to
fulfill their promise and provide high-speed rail links," Fueglistaler said.
Asked whether he thought the large, ongoing
protests in the German city of Stuttgart could
derail the high-speed dream, he said: "Overall
I'm confident that these connections will be built in time."
The protesters in Stuttgart oppose plans to move
the city's station underground, viewing the
euro4.1 billion ($5.7 billion) project as a waste
of money. Supporters say it will free up the
city's packed center and help shorten journeys across Europe.
Heinz Ehrbar, a bear of a man in bright orange
overalls, told the AP the breakthrough
celebration was also a moment to reflect on the
lives lost during the Gotthard tunnel's construction.
"I'm really proud, but I'm thinking also of the
eight people who have lost their lives," said
Ehrbar, the tunnel's chief construction officer.
"It's very important that we remember that not
all of our workers can be with us today."
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