Owner
Moriah - Jerusalem Development Company Ltd.
Client
Electra Infrastructure
Cost
$140 million USD
Timeframe
July 2019
— April 2023
Services performed
Dr. Sauer & Partners provided detailed design of the primary lining of the tunnels and site supervision.
Description
The French Hill Interchange is one of the busiest junctions in Jerusalem with thousands of vehicles per day passing through, along with the Red Line LRT. The French Hill transportation plan includes two twin tunnels running a distance of 3.5km, “TU-M” tunnel from Road 1 to Ma’ale Edomim and “TU-P” tunnel to Pisgat Zeev. The tunnels will run under roads 1 and 60, passing under ‘Uzi Narkis’ bridge and LRT tracks. The tunnelling works include excavation with low cover rock and fill material, construction of temporary access tunnel and simultaneous mining of 12 excavation faces to meet the challenging schedule.
Geology
The French hill stratigraphy consists of fill material, limestone, limy dolomite, dolomite, chalk, marly chalk and lenticular marl forms. Karstic cavities and weathered rock are common.
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Highlights
- Tunnelling with low cover rock and presence of karstic voids
- Tunnelling in urban environment and under Light Rail Train (LRT)
- Tunnel span of up to 17 metres
Panoramic view of the Temporary Access Tunnel
3D FEA in Abaqas
Temporary Access Portal