MPWiK in Warsaw and Budimex are starting the construction of the Vistula Collector. The machine with which its longest section will be made will start drilling at ul. Gdynia Coast. The entire collector will be 9.5 km long, and 5.5 km will be built in the currently implemented stage.
The 145-tonne machine arrived at the construction site in three cars, on which the head, a drilling disc with a diameter of 3.8 m and the so-called “sawmill” were transported. Powerpack, i.e. the disc drive. After connecting the individual elements, the machine was lowered to a depth of almost 14 meters into the starting chamber. After the necessary tests have been carried out, it will start drilling.
The Vistula sewer, the total length of which will be 9.5 km, will be made in trenchless technology using the microtunneling method. Behind the boring head, further fragments of the new pipeline will be pushed underground.
” The Vistula sewer will be the longest microtunneling with a diameter of more than 3 meters in Poland ,” says Marek Smółka, spokesman for MPWiK. ” As part of the stage currently being carried out by Budimex, a more than 5.5-kilometre section of the collector will be built, and the drilling itself should be completed in 2022. –Adds.
The Vistula sewer will be located at a depth of 6 m to 15 m along the following streets: Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie, Wybrzeże Gdańskie and Wybrzeże Gdyńskie. Its basic diameter will be 3.2 m, thanks to which it will be able to hold about 50 thousandm3 of rainwater.
–The tunnel boring, as well as other works related to the construction of the longest section of the collector, will be carried out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – says Michał Wrzosek from Budimex S.A. –The pipeline laying technology used is the safest trenchless method for both the environment and the employees themselves. It also allows you to minimize the amount of work carried out on the surface of the site, and thus reduce traffic difficulties. Pipeline laying is controlled remotely, which allows to reduce the number of people in the excavation while maintaining full precision. In addition, the time needed to complete it is shorter than in the case of works carried out using traditional methods– adds Piotr Kurowicki, representative of the contractor from Budimex S.A.
The Vistula collector, which should ultimately be built within about 3 years, is one of the key investments currently carried out by MPWiK. It will allow to temporarily retain excess sewage and rainwater during heavy rains flowing from the area of left-bank Warsaw. Then, they will be directed through the “Wiślana” pumping station planned as part of this investment to the “Czajka” sewage treatment plant.
The project is implemented as part of the EU project “Water supply and wastewater treatment in Warsaw – Phase VI”, which also includes the construction of collectors: Lindego Bis and Mokotowskiego Bis and the central control system of the combined sewer network. An integral element of this project is also the retention reservoir at the “Czajka” Plant, commissioned this year. Improving the sewage collection system and increasing the retention capacity of the Warsaw sewage network are activities that will reduce the negative effects of climate change, such as flooding and flooding of streets during heavy rains. It should be emphasized that this is part of the investment plan of MPWiK S.A. implemented for years, the aim of which, in addition to those mentioned above, is to counteract and minimize the number of discharges from storm overflows that are triggered during heavy rains.
Technical data of AVN machine:
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Target tunnel length: 9.5 km
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Weight of the entire AVN machine: 145 t
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Length of the whole machine: 8.1 m
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Blade diameter: 3.8m
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Excavation speed: 14 m per day
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Excavation start: December 2020
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Planned completion of excavation: 2022
