"A lighthouse project" says head of department Jürgen Flicke enthusiastically as he presents the "Ibbenbüren Mine Water Canal" project to his colleagues from urban water mangement. For the tour, the group went underground and entered the 500-metre-long and only 3.6-metre-high canal up to the excavation area of the tunnel boring machine. This allowed them to gain very detailed impressions of the tunnel construction method in mechanised tunnelling – an unique opportunity and experience for our colleagues.
In addition to the tour of the tunnel, the centre shaft was also visited. This is an excavation pit that serves as the start and target shaft for the two tunnel boring machines. The excavation pit has a clear diameter of 32 m and a depth of about 75 m. At the time of the visit, the concreting process of the 0.5 m thick excavation base could be observed.
A highlight of the meeting for the department colleagues from Munich and Bochum was a city rally through Bochum, where the team solved common tasks. This was followed by a dinner in Bochum's oldest restaurant.
