Trelleborg to provide seals, gaskets for tunnel in Sweden

Goeteborg, Sweden – Trelleborg AB has been awarded the contract to supply gaskets and seals to the construction of a road tunnel in Goeteborg.

The firm’s Engineered Products operation will supply the products for the Marieholmstunneln, a road tunnel that will use immersed and cut-and-cover techniques.

The tunnel, which will be 1,640 feet long and 66 feet deep, will run under the Goeta Älv River. Trelleborg said that it was chosen specifically to provide the products by civil engineer, Zueblin Scandinavia AB and dredging and marine experts, Boskalis BV, which had collaborated with Trelleborg previously.

Andre de Graaf, sales manager infrastructure for Trelleborg’s engineered products operation, said the firms Gina and Omega seals will be used between sectional elements of the immersed tunnel and waterships at the construction joints to prevent water ingress due to external water pressure.

“The seals provide the highest level of sealing performance while also transferring any hydrostatic loads and movements between the tunnel ends due to soil settlement, creep of concrete, temperature effects,” de Graaf said in a statement.

The tunnel is being constructed for Trafikverket, the Swedish traffic authority and will improve traffic congestion in Goeteborg by bypassing a tunnel for the E6, E45 and E20 routes.

“The outer concrete structure of the tunnel is 30 meters wide and 10 meters high, so we needed a complete sealing system which could cater to these requirements at a depth of 20 meters,” said Carsten Bahl, technical manager at Zueblin Scandinavia.

Trelleborg’s Engineered Products operation, part of the Trelleborg Offshore and Construction business area of the Trelleborg Group, is a global developer, manufacturer and provider of engineered polymer solutions to the energy, infrastructure and mining industries.

It produces sealing systems for tunnels, dredging hoses, polymer solutions for offshore applications and wear resistant products for the mining industry.