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Squeezing zone inside the mountain

Some mountains fight back against tunnel construction – and are brought to heel with technical expertise. Yielding elements, for example, work as a buffer when rock masses put too much pressure on tunnel tubes. Up to now, these elements have been made of steel and were heavy, expensive and difficult to work with. Manuel Entfellner, construction manager for the Semmering Base Tunnel and Implenia intrapreneur, knew there had to be a better way. Today he presents a model made from polystyrene – lighter, cheaper and safer.

500 meters underground at Semmering: picture gallery