Ceneri Base Tunnel: Drive towards the South completed
On March 30, 2015, the tunnellers broke through the final few metres of the Ceneri Base Tunnel’s east bore between Sigirino and Vezia. Some two weeks after the first breakthrough in the west bore on March 17, which took place 13 months earlier than scheduled, this signifies that both southbound single-track tunnels for the tunnel have been excavated. Some 400 m away from the south portal in Vezia more than 600 persons involved in the project, watched on as the precise breakthrough for the west bore towards the south took place: the deviation was extremely minimal – amounting to 2 cm horizontally and 1 cm vertically. Currently the northbound drives are forging ahead. In the west bore around 1500 m must be excavated, with some 2000 m still to be accomplished in the east bore. The main breakthrough is scheduled for early 2016. According to Renzo Simoni, the CEO of the AlpTransit Gotthard AG, the scheduled deadline for opening the tunnel remains December 2019.
