Photo: Stig Stasig

Boring through Copenhagen's limestone 

At up to 120 mm per minute, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) - Astrid to her colleagues - is taking bites out of the limestone 35 metres beneath Copenhagen. Construction of an almost 4 km long tunnel to carry district heating pipes is well under way.

Construction of the district heating tunnel required a full year of preparatory work before the breaking ground ceremony could be held on 10th July 2006.
Photo: Stig Stasig
Entrance to the tunnel. Note the rail tracks - diesel trains transport workers and materials back and forth.
Image gallery


Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week the shift workers keep Astrid at it, boring a 4.2 metre internal diameter tunnel, which by 2009 will be carrying scalding steam and water in pipes.

Conditions are confined and every man has to know exactly what to do. Overseeing the work is the guardian angel of tunnel and mine workers, Saint Barbara.

Click on the 'image gallery' link on the right to see the full story in pictures.

By Janne Toft Jensen, jaje@cowi.dk 
Published: 27.10.2006
Facts 

Copenhagen Energy is the client for the district heating tunnel, which forms parts of a modernisation programme for the production of district heating.

The tunnel will run in a line from Amagerværket south of Copenhagen city centre to Adelgade in Copenhagen, where it will turn and continue to Fredensgade on the north side of the city.

The district heating tunnel is due to be completed and in use by 2009.