Breakthrough of last diaphragm of tunnel passing under A4 Motorway and “Verona Est” exit, with works now at 60% 

Milan, February 6, 2025 – Works on the underground excavation of the First Functional Lot of the Verona-Bivio Vicenza HS/HC railway section, part of the Verona-Padua HS/HC railway line, have been completed, reaching 60% of the total work advancement. The IRICAV Due General Contractor led by Webuild Group has reached a new milestone, with the breakthrough of the last diaphragm of the artificial tunnel passing under the A4 Motorway at San Martino Buon Albergo, near Verona. 

Activities were carried out using advanced engineering techniques that allowed works to proceed, while reducing, as much as possible, surface activities and the impacts on the daily activities of citizens, ensuring stability and safety. Excavation works were particularly complex due to the fact that the route of the new line, in this geographic area, passes under a set of infrastructures like the A4 Motorway, the new motorway exit of "Verona Est", also part of the works related to the Verona-Bivio Vicenza HS/HC railway line, the Southern Verona ring road and all related junctions.

The site inspection was attended by Elisa De Berti, Vice President and Regional Councillor for Public Works, Luigi De Amicis, Director of HS/HC Rail Projects at Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, and Giulio Furlani, Mayor of San Martino Buon Albergo. They were accompanied by Marco Rettighieri, President of the Iricav Due Consortium.

Completing this artificial tunnel represents a fundamental milestone in building the works of the new Verona-Padua HS/HC railway line, a project commissioned by RFI (FS Group), under the supervision of the Extraordinary Commissioner Vincenzo Macello and with the High Supervision and Works Management awarded to Italferr (FS Group). The just-concluded excavation activity ensures an artificial tunnel that measures approximately 2 km in length, in total, and which is over 10 m wide, with an internal height of 7 m. 

The significant aspect concerning this tunnel was that it was built using the “Top Down” method that foresees excavating it underground only after the reinforced concrete diaphragms, and the roof slab (a structure positioned onto the diaphragms that are built) have all been created (here with a 1 m thickness), creating a roofing that allowed excavating the terrain without interfering with the activities on the surface.  

The new Verona-Padua HS/HC railway line represents a great driver for development for Italy. Works are being built according to functional lots, with the first one, the Verona-Bivio Vicenza section, currently being built, extending for 44.2 km. The second functional lot being built refers to the Vicenza Crossing (in Italian "Attraversamento di Vicenza"), which will develop for approximately 6.2 km from Altavilla Vicentina to Vicenza station. The third one is being currently designed. It refers to the Vicenza-Padua section and will cover approximately 26 km.

When, the line will complete the connection between Milan and Venice, allowing people and goods to travel sustainably and quickly in the heart of one of Italy's most industrialised areas. As part of the Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport) network, it will also bring Italy closer to the rest of Europe, strengthening the Trans-European transport system in which the European Union is greatly investing to allow interconnections and sustainable mobility to grow in the continent.  

The new line is part of the 30 main projects that the Webuild Group is currently building in Italy, which in the railway sector include works like the Brenner Base Tunnel, and the Genoa-Milan high-capacity railway line, in the North of Italy. While in the South, there are the railway sections along the Naples-Bari and Palermo-Catania-Messina high-capacity railway lines. 18,600 people, both direct and third-party personnel, are working on these projects, distributed along the entire Italian territory, with 10,500 supply-chain companies.