Fig.: Arbor/Marti
Arbor, a forklift specialist, recently contributed a Hercules telescopic handler from Dieci to the construction work for the modernization of the Ritom hydroelectric power plant in the canton of Ticino. Heavy equipment was needed to load the 265 individual pipe sections for the new underground penstock.
The electricity for the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is generated by the Ritom hydroelectric power plant above Ambri-Piotta, which was built in 1917. To ensure an increased power supply for the railway and simultaneously optimize energy production for the population of Ticino, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), together with Azienda Elettrica Ticinese (Ticino's electricity company), is currently modernizing the power plant. In addition to numerous other construction works, the penstock, which currently runs above ground, is being completely relocated underground – as those involved report, an extremely complex and demanding project in which engineers and contractors have to contend with highly water-bearing rock strata that have triggered significant flow events at times.
The TBM. Graphics: Marti/m.frdl.Gen.
The new, significantly enlarged pressure pipeline to Lago Ritom, located 800 meters higher, was laid entirely underground. Various companies within the Marti Group worked on behalf of Ritom on this complex, comprehensive upgrade.
After the tunnel for the underground pressure pipeline was drilled and secured, the Dieci Hercules truck loaded the pipes for the new pipeline, one by one, from the construction site base in Piotta. From the truck, they were transported up to the lake via a construction cableway and lowered into the shaft using a winch with an 18-ton pulling force. The twelve-meter-long pipes were then connected piece by piece. The new pressure pipeline has a vertical drop of over 800 meters over a distance of 1500 meters.
The joint venture DSD Noell – Pirson Contractors, commissioned with the construction of the pressure pipeline, acquired the Hercules forklift from Arbor. Thanks to its high lifting capacity of 21 tons and a lifting height of 10 meters, the Dieci is proving its worth. To lift and load the heavy pipes weighing up to 16 tons, the Hercules is equipped with forks including adjustable fork positions and a load hook.
Simultaneously with the laying of the pipes in the inclined shaft, construction work is underway for the horizontal shaft of the pressure pipeline – a unique feature of this complex project. The pipes for this shaft are each 9 meters long.
Terrain profile
Here too, the Hercules tractor picks up the material to load it onto the truck that transports it to the mine for further processing. The power plant is scheduled for completion in two years.
B. Kammermann/klk.
The entire project in the video
