Coentunnel

The second Coentunnel is a planned tunnel under the North Sea, alongside the existing Coentunnel in Amsterdam

The tunnel will be build combined with a new highway connection, the Westrandweg, between the Coentunnel and junction Raasdorp, as an extension of the A5. The tunnel will have three regular lanes to Zaanstad and two alternating strips will be available in the direction in which it is currently the busiest. Purpose of the second Coentunnel is to reduce the daily traffic jam on the A8 before the Coentunnel (in the morning peak) and the A10 West (in the evening peak).

This should significantly improve the accessibility of Amsterdam from the North of North-Holland.

The plan is that construction is finished in 2012. The costs are estimated at 2,1 billion euros.

Foundation Specialist Fundex used an open tube to pile on the inside reamers and grout injection on the outside. The grout is only for lubrication and does not contribute to the strength. The piles were screwed from pontoons over 30 meters into the ground. In between the sheet piles were hydraulically pressed. All from pontoons. The movements of the first Coentunnel stayed in the pre-established ranges.

[Source: http://www.2ecoentunnel.com]