ROME – The new Salerno–Reggio Calabria high-speed line enters a crucial phase with the start of excavation of three new tunnels on Lot 1A, the section connecting Battipaglia to Romagnano. Webuild, which is carrying out the work on behalf of RFI, announces the activation of the Leucosia, Ligea, and Mireille mechanical tunnel boring machines. With their entry into operation, all four TBMs planned for completing the eight tunnels to be excavated by mechanical means are now operational. "This is a decisive step for Southern Italy and for Italy's connection to Europe," the group emphasizes, noting that the line is part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor of the TEN-T network.
Leucosia, with a cutterhead over 13 meters long, is working on the Serra Lunga tunnel, over 800 meters long; once completed, it will continue through the Acerra and Petrolla tunnels, connected by viaducts. Ligea, identical in power and size, is excavating the Piano Grasso tunnel, over 2,2 kilometers of single-bore, double-track tunnel, before moving on to the Contursi tunnel. The names of the two tunnel boring machines and Partenope—already underway for months in the Saginara tunnel—were born from a public contest that evoked the myth of the Sirens of the Gulf of Salerno.
The third TBM to recently enter service is Mireille: ten meters in diameter, a career that has seen it work on the Paris metro and now it's leading the excavation of the Caterina tunnel, over a kilometer long. Mireille is also the first tunnel boring machine reconditioned at Webuild's new specialized center in Terni, created to revitalize TBMs in a circular economy perspective. Once Caterina is completed, it will be assigned to the Sicignano tunnel.
Meanwhile, work on the artificial tunnels on Lot 1A continues, and preparations are underway for the excavation of the natural Cerreta, which will be constructed using traditional methods. Work is also underway on numerous viaducts, including the one over the A2 Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway: over one hundred spans and a 120-meter-long railway arch bridge, the longest of its kind in Italy.
Lot 1A includes 35 kilometers of new line, 20 tunnels, and 19 viaducts. Over a thousand people are involved in the work, along with a supply chain of approximately 430 companies. Webuild notes that, along the entire Salerno–Reggio Calabria line, the project for the Cosenza–Paola/San Lucido dualization project was recently acquired, which includes the construction of the 15-kilometer Santomarco tunnel. This investment is part of a portfolio of construction projects in southern Italy worth €15 billion, with 8.700 workers and 7.600 active suppliers.
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