Open to traffic: Bauer piles for Munich's mega tunnel at Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz

Work on Munich's largest construction site has been completed: After an eight-year construction period, the 2.5-kilometer-long tunnel in the Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz area in the southwest of the city was opened to traffic on schedule at the end of July. Among other companies involved in this large-scale project, BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH was commissioned as part of a joint venture with the execution of the relevant specialist foundation engineering work for the tunnel and also with the construction of an approximately 400-meter-long trough area with ramp structures.

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The preliminary work on the canal construction began in October 2007. Bauer began the construction of the tunnel in mid-2009, using the environmentally friendly top-down method. For the Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz area, open-cut tunneling was used. The walls of the tunnel consist of secant bored piles. Up to 21-meter-deep excavations were necessary for the operating stations and emergency exits.

The foundation works carried out by Bauer Spezialtiefbau included 10,091 piles with diameters ranging from 900 to 1,500 mm, a 28,000-square-meter soldier pile wall, 780 support columns in piles with 1,500 mm diameter, 25,000 meter tie-back anchoring and the additional jet grouting and steel bracing. The bored piles were installed using different rotary drilling rigs manufactured by BAUER Maschinen GmbH. Up to the end of construction work by BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH in 2013, sometimes as many as six rigs were in use simultaneously.

The city celebrated the opening of the tunnel to traffic with two events: On 23 July, joggers had the chance to survey the completed structure during their run through the tunnel. The official opening ceremony took place on 25 July, with numerous invited guests and a large public celebration at the Luise-Kiesselbach Platz. Among those present at the ceremony were Dieter Reiter, Mayor of Munich, the Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, and Rosemarie Hingerl from the municipal building authority. Prof. Thomas Bauer, Chairman of the Management Board of BAUER AG, Walter Haus, member of the Management Board of BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH as well as many others who were involved in the construction work took part in the opening festivities.

Since 27 June, traffic has been flowing regularly through this tunnel, which, in some parts, has eight lanes. This tunnel – which is the last of a total of three large tunnels on the Mittlerer Ring – will solve the difficult traffic conditions in the south west of Munich. Restoration of the surface area and the construction of a park with trees, promenades, benches and a children's play area will be completed by 2017. The total cost of this construction in the southwest of the Bavarian capital amounted to EUR 398.5 million.