One kilometre of barrier in the A2 tunnel per week

How do you achieve one kilometre of barrier in a tunnel per week? By designing fast-acting formwork, including a height-adjustable sliding tube, and by moving it with a sideloader. Avenue2 (the Strukton-Ballast Nedam building consortium) is working on the construction of the first double-decker tunnel in the Netherlands on the instructions of A2 Maastricht. The tight schedule aims to have 80% of traffic to go underground by the end of 2016. Hendriks precon supplied 200 metres of formwork, including end formwork and recesses, in 25-metre sections.

‘The design of Hendriks precon provides for the use of ballast blocks in combination with only a couple of floor anchors. Their height-adjustable sliding tube also saves a lot of time compared to the traditional steel intumescent strip. We can use the same formwork for barriers of 80 and 90 cm,’ says foreman Arend Eikelboom, who is working on the final details of the tunnel with his team.
It was his idea to move the formwork using the sideloader: ‘We moved and adjusted the formwork in just over an hour. We pour 200 metres per day. It’s a perfect example of successful teamwork, with knowledge and experience complementing each other.’