"God's will" for Gdansk...08.11.2012 "God's will" for Gdansk...and not only. A spectacular investment, one could say - Gdansk's flag project: a road tunnel under the Dead Vistula river is set to serve the entire region of Pomerania, as well as Poland's national economy. All over the world, a port's competitive edge is determined by its excellent land approach. Having considered that each year the port of Gdansk handles a volume of goods worth more than PLN 100 billion (for comparison, an annual City of Gdansk budget is less than PLN 3 billion), makes it easy to recognize the vast importance of this sea transport node. The completion of new rail and road connections - including the route complete with a tunnel under the Dead Vistula river - will undoubtedly strengthen the position of the Baltic seaport in Gdansk. On 17 October 2012, at 1600 hrs CET sharp, the Dutch break-bulk carrier with the characteristic name of "Deo Volente" (Latin for "God's will") passed the heads of the Gdansk port. A moment later it was already docked at the Rudowe Quay in the Gorniczy Basin. Its holds loaded 1,300 tonnes of components of the so-called "boring mole", of which the heaviest was the device's engine weighing almost 130 tonnes. The 90 metres long Tunnel Boring Machine was build for Gdansk in te German city of Allmannsweier by "Herrenknecht AG". The task took 9 months to complete. Launched for technical acceptance and then dismantled for transportation purposes, it is being delivered to Gdansk in parts by land routes. The TBM components deployed next to the operation site of the "boring mole" are now awaiting the assembly work. There's some intensive work carried out in its vicinity aimed at preparing the launch bedding for TMB. In February 2013, the "boring mole" is scheduled to start the boring operation of the longest tunnel in Poland and the first ever tunnel in our country to be delivered by means of a TBM. At the depth of 35 metres under the water surface of the Dead Vistula river, the "boring mole" will cover a distance of 1,378 metres and then, at the junction of Marynarki Polskiej street, it will be dismantled again and transported to the vicinity of Dworzec Drzewny in order for it to start the boring of the second leg of the tunnel with a 12 metres diameter. According to the work schedule adopted by Gdanskie Inwestycje Komunalne (Gdansk Municipal Investments) - the first vehicles will drive out of the Slowackiego Route through the tunnel and into the Sucharskiego Route towards the end of 2014. Janusz Kasprowicz
PGA SA PR Officer
        
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