Tunnelling under extreme conditions: Renewing the Ritom power plant
It was built in 1920 and is located only a few kilometers from the famous Gotthard Tunnell.
Have you heard of the Ritom power plant in Ticino? It was built in 1920 and is located only a few kilometers from the Gotthard Tunnell.
In 2018, a number of contractors from the Marti Group started working on this overall complex renovation on behalf of Ritom SA. The project included the construction of a pressure tunnel, a new power station and an equalizing reservoir with a capacity of 100,000 m3. The renewal of the power plant lasted until spring 2022.
At the beginning of 2022, the teams carried out the first blasting. They then started work on the access tunnel to the cavern. The rock however proved difficult to dig in creating some pretty bad construction circumstances.
How did the engineers cope with these obstacles? How did they ensure that all workers were kept safe? How did they continue to dig deeper than they ever thought possible? How successful was the project in the end and were all plans achieved?
This video illustrates the many marvels of engineering that the skilled technicians had to perform to complete their ambitious project. After watching it, you will conclude that these contractors were indeed miracle workers.
SHOW COMMENT ()
