The most spectacular element of the construction of the S3 expressway between Bolków and Kamienna Góra is the construction of two road tunnels. The first (TS-26) is about 2,300 meters long and the second (TS-32) is about 320 meters long. The excavation of both aisles of the longer one has just finished.
S3 Bolków – Lubawka
The construction of the section of the S3 expressway Bolków – Lubawka (state border) has been divided into two separate tasks: Bolków – Kamienna Góra North and Kamienna Góra North – Lubawka (state border). As part of both investments, a total of over 31 km long section of the S3 route will be built, which in the future will connect to the Czech D11 motorway.
Bolków – Kamienna Góra North
In the section between the Bolków and Kamienna Góra North junctions, a 16.1 km long S3 dual carriageway will be built. Each roadway will have two lanes and an emergency lane. There are also two two-aisle road tunnels – the TS-26 tunnel, approx. 2300 m long, between the towns of Sady Górne, Stare and Nowe Bogaczowice, and the TS-32 tunnel, approx. 320 m long, near the town of Gostków. The contractor is a consortium of PORR (leader) and PORR Bau (partner). The contract value is over PLN 1.5 billion. After obtaining the decision on the road investment permit on August 21, 2020, the contractor started preparatory works, and then industry works.
Road tunnel TS-26
The drilling of the tunnel from the southern part started in December 2020, while the drilling work began on the northern side in March 2021.
The structure of the TS-26 tunnel consists of two main aisles for vehicle traffic: left (east) with a length of 2301.88 m and right (west) with a length of 2272.2 m, eight transverse evacuation passages and one emergency passage in the middle of the tunnel. The longer tunnel was dug using the NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method), which was selected, among others, due to the geological structure of the rock, the tunnel’s cross-section and its length.
The next stage of works will concern the protection of the mining excavation, and the next works related to the construction of the final support will be carried out.
Tunnel TS-32
The shorter road tunnel is implemented in the Cut & Cover technology, i.e., open trench. This means that in the first stage of works, a deep excavation was made up to the level of the tunnel foundations, and then a reinforced concrete structure was made. 223 thousand were removed from the excavation. It was estimated that 223 thousand m3 of rock material were carted away, which equates to the capacity of 744 Olympic swimming pools. Currently, works related to the assembly of the formwork system for concreting the structure, as well as reinforcement and concreting of the tunnel foundations are in progress. The tunnel lining will consist of 27 segments, of which the twenty-first is currently under construction.
Work is currently underway
Despite the winter period lasting from December 15 to March 15, the contractor, based on favourable weather conditions and technological possibilities, carries out excavations in non-rocky and rocky soils and ditches. In the field of the bridge industry, there are, among others, erecting flyovers along the expressway. One will be 532 m long and the other 349 m long. Other facilities include formwork, reinforcement and the construction of the load-bearing structure.