Trentino Officials Review Progress on Rocchetta Tunnel Construction
Brief visit, yesterday, by the president of the provincial council who, along with a team of technicians, conducted an on-site inspection of the construction site set up by the companies Collini and Oberosler for the 1200-meter tunnel in Rocchetta. An announced “quick in-and-out” event, mainly aimed at reassuring the Rivana administration and the public about the Province’s commitment.
Accompanying Dellai were engineers Claudio Bortolotti and Raffaele De Col, as well as Mayor Cesare Malossini, Deputy Mayor Pietro Matteotti, and representatives of the companies involved in the project.
Situation and Timeline for Completion
“Here in Riva,” said Dellai during a brief press conference held in one of the prefabricated units at the site, “we are setting a small record. Just last January 30th, at a meeting in Rome, the idea of creating the new tunnel with an accelerated procedure was born, and today, just a few weeks later, the companies are already working at full speed.”
Assuring no surprises — the president said — the work will be completed by the end of June, and the tunnel will be open to traffic by the end of the following month. The only uncertainty concerns the geological makeup of the mountain, but the initial data from the companies is reassuring. The Province of Trento — he added — is fully committed and hopes that the same level of effort will come from the provinces south of the border.”
This statement seemed like a friendly reminder to the Province of Brescia not to forget that the risk factors affecting the western Garda area are not exclusive to the Trentino segment, and that the survival of the road depends on a joint effort between the provinces.
“Of course, it’s true that there are still problems to resolve,” continued Dellai, “but regarding the removal of excavation debris, the solution is near. Next Wednesday, the Technical Services will give the final opinion (which is almost certain to be positive) and immediately afterward, the companies’ trucks will be able to deposit the excavated material from the tunnel in the lake area opposite the shoreline from Piazza Catena to Casa Rossa.”
Designs and Innovations
“The municipality’s project,” echoed Engineer De Col, “is interesting and smart, and it can be implemented thanks to a recently approved law by the Senate, which considers excavation material from construction sites not as waste, but as reusable material for strengthening works. In this case, the Rivana bank of the lake will be reinforced.”
Optimistic remarks also came from Fabrizio Collini, head of one of the temporary companies involved in realizing the project designed by architect Paolo Nicolussi Paolaz.
“We have accepted a real challenge,” said Collini. “I won’t hide that this is a demanding commitment, but we will do our utmost to meet the planned deadlines.”
To speed up the process, technicians decided to “excavate” the mountain using explosives. The mechanical digger, in fact, would have required a very long installation process (about three months), a 350-meter space in front of the tunnel entrance, and even then, the massive machine would have moved too slowly inside Rocchetta.