Opening of last stretch of Turku-Helsinki motorway postponed further

Problems with tunnels prevent use of 28-kilometre section from Lahnajärvi to Lohja

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It's close, but they are not there yet, even though it was supposed to happen last November. Owing to technical problems, the opening of the last stretch of the Helsinki-Turku motorway between Lahnajärvi and Lohja has been postponed into the unforeseen future.
      Owing to the difficulties, around ten thousand vehicles per twenty-four-hour period have to thread their way from the motorway through to the old Highway 1 around the incomplete stretch, often with the tantalisingly empty motorway in plain sight.
     
The situation with the project, which was ordered by the Finnish Road Administration from the construction conglomerate Tieyhtiö Ykköstie Oy, will next be reviewed on Friday.
      The opening of the Lahnajärvi-Lohja section to traffic at that time is anything but likely.
      According to project manager Matti Vehviläinen of the Finnish Road Administration, the safety devices on the stretch have not yet reached the required operational level.
     
“There are deficiencies in the tunnel gate devices, traffic lights, and lane guidance systems. The problems arise primarily from the computer software that guides the equipment. The fire safety equipment, on the other hand, was brought to a satisfactory level by Christmas”, Vehviläinen states.
      “Our experts remain on standby and can be dispatched instantly to check if all the safety measures are at such a level that the motorway can be opened to traffic without having to close it down again immediately for further adjustments”, continues Vehviläinen.
      “A lot of feedback has been received from the road users - and for good reason - as there is a spanking-new and empty motorway running right next to the old road”, Vehviläinen admits.
     
Three construction companies in all competed over the job.
      The winner Tieyhtiö Ykköstie’s construction schedule was up to two years shorter than that of the competitors.
      In Vehviläinen’s view this rather ambitious timetable may have taken its own revenge in the form of the present delays.
      The main contractors within Tieyhtiö Ykköstie are the construction giants Lemminkäinen and Skanska.
     
Of the Muurla-Lohja section of the motorway, a 23-kilometre stretch was introduced on November 19th.
      The remaining 28 kilometres have caused problems, for the stretch has no less than five tunnels. From the safety point of view the most challenging one is the longest tunnel, Karnaisten, which is more than 2,200 metres in length. Three other tunnels are each more than half a kilometre in length (see map).
      The section of road opened last November also contained tunnels, but not of quite the same length.
     
The Finnish Road Administration bought the motorway for EUR 638 million as a total service package for the years 2008-2029.
      If the motorway cannot be used, the paid price will come down.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Final Muurla-Lohja section of E18 motorway between Helsinki and Turku to open in autumn (5.6.2008)
  Finland´s largest motorway project attracts international interest (17.8.2004)

Links:
  E18 Muurla-Lohja Motorway

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