PROJECT SHEET

Vuoli Tunnels

Construction SKANSKA TEKRA OY/ SKANSKA BS/SIEMENS FINLAND/FINNISH ROAD ENTERPRISE

Consulting Engineer KALLIOSUUNNUITTELY ROCPLAN OY LTD.

Owner HARBOUR COMPANY & FINNISH ROAD ADMINISTRATION

Products ADMIX C-1000 NF

Project Type TUNNELS

Xypex Admix C-1000 NF played critical role in shotcrete waterproofing of Vuosaari Harbor tunnels.

When city planners and engineers began The exposed rock interiors of the road and rail drawing up designs for a new harbor that tunnels were reinforced with deep anchor could relieve the pressure on the Port of Hel- bolts and coated with a base layer of standard sinki, the need for easy access via roads and shotcrete to a thickness of 60 - 80 mm. On rails was a critical requirement. The new USD top of this base layer, a 40 - 60 mm layer of $757 million Vuosaari Harbor, located about shotcrete mixed with Xypex Admix C-1000 NF 15 km northeast of central , was built crystalline waterproofing was applied to pro- on 150 hectares (370 acres), which includes vide a permanent seal against moisture intru- 90 hectares that had to be filled in. sion. Finally, a 25 mm layer of standard shot- crete was applied to the innermost surface. The critical , Finland, could no The new harbor, completed in 2009, can han- longer handle all of the trade that was flowing in dle more than 12 million tons of unitized cargo More than 28,000 kg (61,700 lb) of Xypex Ad- and out of its docks. The decision was made to (e.g., containers, trucks, trailers, etc.) annu- mix was needed to treat the waterproofing build a new, larger port 15 km east of the city in ally. A new four-lane highway and new rail shotcrete layer. The Xypex Admix was added Vuosaari. lines were built to help move people and cargo to the concrete at the ready-mix plant using in and out of the new port. water soluble bags for accuracy, convenience, and the improved safety of the workers. The new highway passes through two new road tunnels that were built near the outskirts The tunnel designers considered other, more of the new harbor to enable vehicles to travel conventional, waterproofing approaches such unimpeded under 1.6 kilometers of solid rock. as heavy membranes, but the time and cost to Planners chose to tunnel under a wildlife pres- apply these mechanical solutions caused them ervation area known as Natura 2000, which to look for something more innovative. Mem- was deemed be the least intrusive travel branes installed over exposed rock would al- option. The drill-and-blast tunneling method ways be at risk for future damage and leakage. used to create the Porvarinlahti highway tun- nels—named after a nearby bay—resulted in “The application of shotcrete treated with Tunnel builders were faced with a daunting task of drilling and blasting their way through 1.6 km of 1.9 million cubic meters of rock waste, which Xypex Admix in the Vuosaari highway tunnels hard rock. was used as fill in the harbor, as well as in is believed to be the first time crystalline noise barriers and landscaping. waterproofing has been used for this purpose

Xypex Chemical Corporation 13731 Mayfield Place, Richmond, BC, Canada V6V 2G9 Tel: 604.273.5265 [email protected] www.xypex.com PROJECT SHEET

A satellite view of the new port.

The new port was built on 150 hectares (370 acres), which included 90 hectares that were created from rock waste blasted out of road and rail tunnels just north of the port.

The 1.6 km highway tunnels were built under an important wilderness area as the most environmentally friendly option available. The tunnels dip below the sea level, making saltwater intrusion a continual threat.

in Finland,” notes Ronald Sulin, Xypex sales in Europe, but around the world, designers, manager for Finland. “The two tubes of the engineers and contractors are increasingly road tunnel actually dip below sea level, so the specifying Xypex Admix for spray-applied need for protection from the ingress of saltwa- concrete. It saves time, saves money, ensures ter is a real concern. Within a few months, any two-way moisture protection, and lasts the life seepage that was seen initially dried up as the of the structure. It makes sense.” Xypex did its job, filling in micro cracks and voids with non-soluble crystals. It’ll continue working for the life of the tunnels.”

Now, more than 10 years after the opening of the Vuosaari Harbor and the road and rail tunnels that help keep it humming, the The new rail tunnel is coated with shotcrete. Xypex treated shotcrete continues to prove its effectiveness.

“The use of Xypex crystalline waterproofing The entire surface of all tunnels received a base layer of 60 - 80 mm of standard shotcrete, admix in this shotcrete application has truly a waterproofing middle layer of 40 - 60 mm of been a revelation in this market,” Sulin ob- Xypex treated shotcrete, and an inner 25 mm serves. “Experts have had a long time to study layer of standard shotcrete. Here, during an the product in action and I think it is safe to inauguration ceremony, local townspeople say we have impressed the skeptics. Not only and officials walk the new tunnels.

Xypex Chemical Corporation 13731 Mayfield Place, Richmond, BC, Canada V6V 2G9 Tel: 604.273.5265 [email protected] www.xypex.com