The Kramer Tunnel is making progress: 20 months after construction work resumed, the 3.6 kilometer long main tunnel is now connected.
Much remains to be done, however, before it can be opened at the end of 2024.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- There are already a few rules in mining construction for a tunnel breakthrough like on Thursday at the Kramer in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:
First
, the event has to be celebrated - on a grand scale.
“Like lifting a house when building a house,” says Florian Zahler, the deputy project manager at Kramer.
"There are two milestones in tunnel construction: the attack and the breakthrough."
Second
: The tunnel godmother walks through the hole in the mountain first.
Third
: The celebrities must not be missing.
This protocol was meticulously met at the Kramer.
First of all, it has to be said: The actual breakthrough came on Wednesday.
At around 4 p.m., an excavator cleared the last 1.5 meters of rock out of the way.
“The hole was just big enough that two people could walk through it next to each other.” Tanja Dobrindt, as the pipe's godmother, had the honor of being the first to step through the opening.
She was received with a bouquet of flowers - as required by the unofficial protocol for such events.
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Interview with the tunnel godmother: Tanja Dobrindt was the first to be allowed to walk through the hole in the mountain at the lecture.
© THOMAS VERY
The question now: who would be the next to set foot through the hole?
As the first of those responsible on site?
The choice fell on Werner Hüntelmann from the Weilheim State Building Authority.
“He's been involved with the Kramer Tunnel since 1991,” explained Zahler.
He is truly a veteran in this project, which was first considered in the 1970s.
Party until the early hours after the breakthrough
The party rose afterwards - and turned out to be lavish. Those involved sat together until the early hours of the morning, toasting the work they had done so far. The Kramer project is truly an extraordinary one. The fact that tunnel construction is dormant for seven and a half years "doesn't happen often," emphasizes Raphael Zuber, head of mining tunneling at the State Building Authority. Short interruptions, they happen again and again. But such a time window? From August 27, 2012 to February 10, 2020 - rather not. “Thank God,” adds Zuber.
At Kramer, those responsible have gotten through well since the restart last spring - despite all Corona restrictions.
“To build a 3.6 kilometer long tunnel in 20 months is really good,” confirms Zuber.
“You have to say that.” The commissioned companies would have done a “very good job,” adds Zahler.
"We are really happy that we were through and that everything worked so smoothly." Important for the tunnel builders: "There were no serious accidents," says Zuber - neither in the structural sense, nor in relation to injuries or the like.
Astonished faces among the political celebrities
There were amazed faces to be seen among the political celebrities.
Elisabeth Koch was as happy as a little child.
"It is so impressive what human achievements are behind it, whether in planning or execution - unbelievable," said the Garmisch-Partenkirchner Mayoress (CSU).
She slightly modified a proverb: "I can really see light in the tunnel that at least the Garmisch district will soon be relieved of traffic."
Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), the newly re-elected Berlin MP, also walked through the semi-darkness of the tube with a soul.
“My last official act as Minister of Transport was in 2017 to approve the construction of the Kramer Tunnel, now we're that far,” he recalled.
It is an "unbelievable feeling to be standing in the middle of the tunnel now".
Guests go on a souvenir hunt in the tunnel
The political celebrities immediately started looking for suitable souvenirs: it should be a few smaller boulders.
Koch, Dobrindt and also District Administrator Anton Speer (Free Voters) helped themselves, wanted to take a piece of the Kramer with them.
Those in charge let them go as long as they didn't get in the way of one of the big machines.
Because: "We are in there in live operation", Zuber had warned the guest group at the beginning.
"You should see that we are really working."
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Souvenir hunters among themselves: (from left) District Administrator Anton Speer, Mayor Elisabeth Koch and Member of the Bundestag Alexander Dobrindt have secured his own from the Kramer.
© THOMAS VERY
There is still plenty to do for the experts in the years to come.
Around 400 meters in the main tunnel still have to be completely exposed down to the bottom, and 305 meters are missing from the exploratory tunnel.
Zahler anticipates a year and a half before the technology could move into the tunnel as the next stage.
The opening date is still set at the end of 2024.
Whether that will work - no one can currently say for sure.
And then the Wanktunnel is still missing, which is supposed to relieve the Partenkirchen district.