The June 2018 opening of a new – and waterproof – vehicular underpass at the main train station in Ventimiglia, Italy, was built with concrete elements treated with PENETRON ADMIX to guarantee maximum durability for the tunnel.
The new vehicular underpass is a key part of an enhanced traffic system around the Ventimiglia railway station. The project was managed by the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), Italy's national railway. The RFI is responsible for maintaining the Italian railway infrastructure. The tunnel, designed by Studio Garassino of Milan, is part of a comprehensive RFI program to upgrade the road crossings along the Genoa-Sampierdarena railway line, a 160-km (100-mile) stretch that traverses the Italian Riviera to the French border.
The project plans called for the placement of massive concrete elements – including a foundation slab, wall elements and a ceiling – under the railway lines leading into the Ventimiglia train station. The simplicity of the box-like design of the underpass helped keep construction straightforward and eliminated the previous delays from the ground level crossing for cars and pedestrians, improving the flow of traffic around the train station.
The Most Reliable Waterproofing Solution
The project contractor, Carlo Agnese of La Spezia, used what is referred to in Italy as the “scatolare a spinta” method. This procedure begins with the construction of a temporary underpass beneath the railway tracks to allow trains to continue rolling on the tracks above while construction progressed underneath. With a steel superstructure in place, massive concrete elements were cast on location along the railway lines and then “pushed” into place below the railway, one after another, to build the box-shaped underpass tunnel.
“Carlo Agnese specified the Penetron System for the concrete elements of the tunnel,” adds Enricomaria Gastaldo Brac, CEO & Managing Director of Penetron Italia. “This was not only because it was quick to implement and easy to use, but above all, because the integral crystalline technology is the only waterproofing method that could guarantee a successful result based on our 'scatolare a spinta' construction method.”
Crystalline Formation Provides Durability
PENETRON ADMIX was used to treat all the concrete elements for the Ventimiglia tunnel. A crystalline additive mixed into the concrete during the batching stage, PENETRON ADMIX reacts to the water in the concrete to form a non-soluble crystalline formation that permanently seals microcracks, pores and capillaries against the penetration of water or liquids from any direction. This protects concrete from deterioration, even when exposed to the environment as with the Ventimiglia tunnel.
“For the concrete elements cast on location in Ventimiglia, PENETRON ADMIX provides key properties, such as low permeability, low shrinkage and self-healing,” adds Enricomaria Gastaldo Brac. “Ultimately, it also helped save the builder time and keep to the very tight construction schedule!”
Quick and easy to use:
Trains continued to roll on the tracks above while construction progressed beneath. PENETRON ADMIX was quickly added to the concrete mix to help keep the project on schedule.
No delays, more durability:
PENETRON ADMIX is added to the box-shaped concrete tunnel elements, which are then pushed into place underneath the Ventimiglia station railway tracks.
