Swiss rockfall gallery Mingèr completed five weeks ahead of schedule with Doka's Concremote

The Mingèr gallery was recently inaugurated to protect the main road in the Engadine high valley in Switzerland from falling rocks and avalanches. The structure required an unobstructed clearance profile and an accelerated construction schedule in order to complete the gallery before winter. The contractor, Bezzola Denoth AG, relied on solutions from Doka to help it achieve this goal.

The Engadine high valley in Switzerland is famous for its picturesque landscape, but also for the dangers of rockfall and avalanches that threaten the main traffic artery. To ensure the safety of road users, the 240-metre-long Mingèr Gallery was built near the village of Martina.

Due to the geographical conditions – a mountain slope on one side and water on the other – it was important to ensure an unobstructed clearance profile so that traffic could continue as usual during construction. The solution came in the form of Doka UniKit, Doka’s universal engineering kit for heavy loads. To achieve the required spans, two electrically operated tunnel formwork travellers on rails were used. The powerful UniKit primary beams (including extensions) were combined with SL-1 beams to provide the necessary stability. The challenge for the contractors was to achieve the specified concreting sequence with different block lengths (10.0 / 12.5 / 15.0 m). Thanks to the crane-independent, foldable side formwork, it was possible to pass through the already existing concrete pillars while moving the formwork traveller.

Another requirement for the contractor, Bezzola Denoth AG, was to complete the work before winter 2022. In addition to the shoring and formwork, this project also involved the use of Concremote, a digital service from Doka. Concremote uses sensors to measure the temperature and calculates the compressive strength of the concrete structure. The use of Concremote cable sensors halved the stripping time, allowing the project to be completed five weeks ahead of schedule. The early completion saved €40,000 in costs.