|
|
 |
A coast-to-coast
highway will span the country
 |
Eyes
in the hillside: The twin-tunnel worksite at Votonosi. |
When
complete, the new road will run between the harbour port of Igoumenitsa
on the Ionian Sea to Kipi on the border with Turkey.
More than
300 kilometres of the highway have been completed so far, with 121 km
now in operation. Most of the road, which is among the top 14 priority
projects financed by the EU, will run through mountainous regions at
heights of 1,000 metres and more.
Two Atlas
Copco computerised drill rigs - Rocket Boomer L 2C - equipped with COP
1838 drills and BUT 35 boom systems, are playing a major role at two
demanding sites. At the 740 m-long Votonosi twin-tunnel site, one of
the rigs is used to drill both the crown and for benching. Site Manager
for the Mochlos company, Yiannis Stratoyannis says: "The booms
on this rig have exceptional manoeuvrability, and it runs very well
in all drilling operations.
"The
COP 1838 drills are powerful, reliable and are running up to 25% faster
than other drills I have experienced. An average of two minutes to drill
each hole is simply a superb performance. The Swellex bolts are unsurpassed
in poor and very poor rock conditions and installation is extremely
fast. Our bolting teams are confident about working in tunnels - even
in fractured rock conditions - when the roof is secured with Swellex
bolts."
 |
| Master
of precision: The Rocket Boomer L2 C at Polimylos. |
| Exceptional
precison: George Stournas, Site Manager of TCGC. |
 |
Increased
precision
The other L2 C unit is operating for Technical Company General Contracting
on the Sigma 11 project, including 493 m-long twin tunnels at Polimylos.
Site Manager
George Stournas says he is fully satisfied with the rig's on-board computer
as increased pattern precision gives a significant benefit to the entire
drilling cycle with a minimum of overbreak.
The Egnatia
Highway is expected to be fully open to traffic in 2006.
 |
| The
Samos Tunnel: An Olympian achievement from the past. |
Ancient
tunnel
has stood the
test of time
In
these days of advanced technology which drives underground tunnels
quickly and with pinpoint accuracy, it is remarkable to discover
a tunnel which was built by hand more than 2,500 years ago - and
still exists.
This
incredible construction was driven through limestone on the island
of Samos in the Aegean Sea in the 6th century BC. Polycrates,
the ruler of the island's ancient city of Samos, ordered the tunnel
to be built to carry fresh water from the mountain springs into
the city below.
The
tunnel is 1,036 m-long, 1.80 m wide and 1.80 m high. On one side,
sunken into the floor at a depth of between two and nine metres,
is the aqueduct through which the water flowed.
Construction started in 524 BC and lasted for 10 years. Under
the leadership of the Greek engineer Eupalinos of Megara, who
is believed to have done all his calculations in the soil on the
surface, two teams of slaves with hammers and chisels drove through
the rock simultaneously from either side of the mountain.
Amazingly,
the teams met at the tunnel's halfway point with an alignment
error of only 0.6 m!
After centuries of neglect, the tunnel was lost until in 1882
it was rediscovered in a relatively good state of preservation.
It was found to contain artefacts dating back to the Roman and
Byzantine eras and is now a popular tourist attraction.
|
Back
to ››
The race is on for ATHENS 2004
|
|
|
