Vienna drills for the future: Mega tunnel project started under the Vienna River!

Vienna drills for the future: Mega tunnel project started under the Vienna River!

Gaudenzdorfer Gürtel, 1120 Wien, Österreich - Vienna drives a huge construction project that is supposed to revolutionize the history of wastewater management in the city. The construction work on the Wiental Canal, the largest sewer project in the city, has achieved a decisive phase. In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, March 12, 2025, an impressive 135 meter long tunnel drill, also known as a "super drill", was delivered in the city. This drill will create a tunnel tube with an outside diameter of almost four meters under the Vienna River from Margareten to Auhof, to relieve the sewer network in heavy rain by 2028 and to protect the flow of Vienna from contamination, as Climate Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky emphasizes. The project includes a huge investment of around 270 million euros and will ensure a significant improvement in the infrastructure in six districts.

The tunnel template machine, manufactured by Herrenknecht AG in Germany, consists of over 20,000 individual parts and required precise logistical planning to be safely transported to Vienna. Several special transports were necessary at the beginning, since the dimensions of the machine components exceeded the requirements of the road traffic regulations. Once on site, the heavy parts with a special mobile crane must be precisely installed. According to Vienna Channel Director Andreas Ilmer, the components of the components are a delicate moment that requires the highest precision and calm hands. The completion of the drill is planned for the end of March, followed by a final check in early April, before it is really called "Ready to Drill" in mid -April.

historical insights into the Vienna River

The current work on the Wien Valley Canal is related to a longer history of the Vienna River, which was documented in 1847 to 1857 cartographically and hydrotechnically. These "Vienna River Shests", carried out by engineering students at the polytechnic institute under Professor Josef Stummer, show a city. Vienna expanded rapidly during the early 19th century, which also brought about the questions of flood protection and the bank regulation, which were already recognized and discussed by the engineers at the time. The detailed protocols of the students offer valuable insights into the challenges and progress in the field of construction and are evidence of the long tradition of engineering in Vienna, which can also be seen in today's project developments, such as press.