In 2016, the first Russian winchester-type transport tunnel was opened in Moscow. Due to the two-story structure, the structure has a higher capacity and at the same time takes up less space than standard traffic interchanges. The RIA Nedvizhimost correspondent found out how Gormost maintains the tunnel, which is located in its technical rooms, and how the building in the form of a glass ball on Sokol is connected with the object.
Double-barreled principle
Despite its uniqueness, the transport structure in the north-west of Moscow bears a rather dry official name - a tunnel at the intersection of Narodniy Opolcheniya Street with Berzarin Street. But among the people it is primarily known as a winchester. As the deputy head of the Gormost-Sever section, Andrei Abramov, explains, the tunnel is directly connected to the American gun.
"In 2013, the facility began to be built on the principle of an American winchester rifle. It has two barrels, one located above the other. Our tunnel is also arranged in the same way: its parts overlap half of the length from the side of the passage towards the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, and in the direction of Marshal Zhukov Avenue, this is the most common tunnel, "says Abramov.
The unusual design of the building is not at all a whim of the designer, but a necessity dictated by the complete residential development of the area and the inability to strengthen and expand the adjacent buildings. If the tunnel had been built in the classical form, then with the expansion of Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street, the road would run almost close to the apartment buildings. The distance between the entrances and the roadway would be no more than six meters, while according to the standards, the length of the necessary "buffer" must be twice as wide.
As part of the construction of the tunnel, the number of traffic lanes was increased on the streets of Berzarin and the People's Militia, and the traffic light, which regularly generated traffic jams, was also removed. The tunnel is less than a kilometer long, nevertheless, it has a large capacity. The lower tunnel, 780 meters long, runs along the even side of Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street, the upper one, a little more than 540 meters long, runs along the odd side.
"Since part of the tunnel was left open, there were no special difficulties during the construction. To create it, special sections were cast, a kind of vertebrae of the structure. The only difficulty that the builders had to face was the watering of the object. There are many underground rivers, for example, Tarakanovka, which was closed in a collector. To prevent water from its inflows into the tunnel, we made high-quality waterproofing, "says Abramov.
More than meets the eye
The technical rooms of the Winchester Tunnel occupy three floors; you can go down into them through a separate entrance right at the intersection of the upper and lower tracks. Access is strictly open to the employees of "Gormost", who daily monitor the condition and cleanliness of their facility.
"According to the regulations, we regularly wash and clean the tunnel, if an emergency occurs, we promptly eliminate the consequences. The State Budgetary Institution" Automobile Roads "is responsible for the quality of the roadway, we also interact with JSC" Mosvodokanal " lists Abramov.
At the upper level of the technical rooms of the tunnel, ventilation rooms are equipped, spare generators are stored in case of energy emergencies. One level below is a pumping station, and below it is a sump, a sump for collecting wastewater that falls into the tunnel during precipitation.
The dungeon with concrete walls and gray water makes a truly gloomy impression, although it also ensures the safety of the structure and passing motorists. According to Abramov, all the water flows from the tunnel into this chamber, which is then cleaned of debris and released into underground sewers in Moscow.
"The Winchester tunnel is also equipped with a sophisticated security system. Here, for example, jet fans are installed that work in the smoke extraction mode. If the tunnel is at a sufficient depth, it is equipped with a gas analysis system. For example, if there are many smoking cars in the traffic jam, a signal is given and jet jets they are starting to blow through the tunnel, "Abramov explains.
Jet fans also work during a fire, dispelling smoke from the hearth area. So it is easier for rescue teams to organize the evacuation of victims. There is no separate fire extinguishing system, as in the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, in the Winchester tunnel, since its length is rather small, and the design provides for an open part.
“But there is a water-based fire extinguishing system in the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, as it is deeper and longer. It should be remembered that not every fire can be extinguished with water, especially if it is chemical. first of all, to lower the temperature at the facility, "says Abramov.
The Mystery of the Ball
The control room, from which Gormost employees are monitoring the situation at subordinate facilities in real time, is located not far from the Sokol metro station, in the same building with a glass dome, familiar to all Muscovites.
“In the circles of Gormost, we call him Sharik,” Abramov says with a smile. Initially, the building was built as a transborder for trams, according to the idea, they were supposed to drive in and turn around. But with the development of the transport infrastructure, the trains became longer, and the idea was abandoned, therefore, the dispatching office of the enterprise appeared in such a shocking place.
Most of the building is occupied by a control room with dozens of monitors. They broadcast a picture from tunnels, pedestrian crossings and sections of chords in the area of responsibility of "Gormost". According to Abramov, monitoring covers almost the entire north of Moscow: the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, the existing tunnels as part of the North-West Expressway, Mikhalkovsky and Winchester tunnels, video surveillance of the constructed section of the North-Eastern Expressway is also organized here.
“There are a lot of accidents in Moscow tunnels, motorists need to be very careful when driving on such sections. Just recently, our company car was parked in the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel with special signals on, cleaning the canvas on the right lane, and a reckless driver was racing through the tunnel. the number of accidents reduced by half, "says Abramov.
There is no evil force: how security is organized in the Lefortovo tunnelThere are many terrible legends about one of the longest and most mysterious tunnels in Europe - Lefortovsky. As if there are too many accidents in it, but their otherworldly essences are satisfied. Employees of "Gormost" dispelled myths and talked about how security is ensured in the complex.19 flyovers and four bridges with a total length of more than eight kilometers appeared in Moscow during the construction of the North-West Expressway. In addition, the list of completed works includes nine tunnels with a length of 5.6 kilometers. And for the safety of pedestrians, specialists have built 18 underground, 11 overhead crossings and a pedestrian bridge.
The North-West Expressway runs from Dmitrovskoye to Skolkovskoye Highway and further to Michurinsky Prospect. The construction of the new expressway is almost complete. Six of its eight sections have been commissioned.
The reconstruction of Dmitrovskoye Highway and Bolshaya Akademicheskaya Street from Dmitrovskoye Highway to the Alabyano-Baltic Tunnel has already been completed, the Alabyano-Baltic Tunnel has been built, the section from Leningradskoye Highway to Marshal Zhukov Avenue has been reconstructed with the construction of the first winchester tunnel in Moscow.
By the end of 2019, it is planned to build a girder bridge across the gateway No. 9 of the Moscow Canal and complete the reconstruction of the traffic intersection at the intersection of the Moscow Ring Road with General Dorokhova Street.
As the head of the Moscow Construction Department Andrey Bochkarev said, the construction of tunnels and flyovers made it possible to significantly improve the transport situation in urban areas connected by the highway.
“On the already commissioned sections of the North-West Expressway, the throughput capacity has increased to 30 percent,” he added.
The longest overpass of the expressway was the overpass of the main course through the Smolensk direction of the Moscow railway. The total length of the building, located in the area of Bozhenko Street, is almost 1.4 kilometers.
Other unique objects of the North-West Expressway include the Alabyano-Baltic Tunnel and the Winchester Tunnel at the intersection of Narodniy Opolcheniya and Berzarin Streets.
The Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, 1935 meters long, runs under Leningradsky Prospekt, Volokolamsky and Leningradsky transport tunnels, as well as the Zamoskvoretskaya metro line. It connects Halabyan Street and Bolshaya Akademicheskaya.
The Winchester Tunnel is located at the intersection of Berzarin and Narodniy Opolcheniya Streets. Traffic flows there do not go side by side, but one above the other. On the even side of the street, cars dive into a 786-meter-long lower tunnel at a depth of 12.5 meters. Those that move on the odd side end up on the top. Its length is 542 meters, depth is 10 meters.
The total length of the North-West Expressway is 83 kilometers. It connects Michurinsky Prospekt, Skolkovskoye, Mozhaiskoye, Rublevskoye, Zvenigorodskoye, Volokolamskoye, Leningradskoye and Dmitrovskoye highways.
In the area of Dmitrovskoye Highway, an exit from the North-West Expressway to the North-East Expressway was built.
The new highway has reduced the traffic load on a number of central streets, the Third Transport Ring, the Moscow Ring Road and adjacent sections of the departing highways. Vehicle mileage between neighboring areas has decreased by about 10 percent.
A "winchester" tunnel will appear in the capital. The underground road, which will become part of the North-West Expressway, will be built on Narodnogo militia street. At the top, the traffic lights will be removed, and in the tunnel itself, the cars will go in two floors - one above the other.
A quarter of the street of the People's Militia will go on the ground. City transport will be removed into the tunnel. It will be built using a special technology: along the section of the tunnel, two multidirectional flows will go one above the other, in two floors.
This principle was dubbed "Winchester" - by the resemblance to a rifle, two barrels of which also lie one on top of the other. Each direction - towards Marshal Zhukov Street on the odd side and to Leningradka along the even - will be removed into separate tunnels. They start at the same time and at the same depth. Gradually, the left side rises and shifts towards the right side, which is longer. As soon as the short left section ends, the cars drive out of it into an open area. One hundred meters, cars will move along the roof of the right tunnel. This is the Winchester.
The engineers went to such tricks for a reason. To relieve the Narodnogo militia street, it was first planned to build an overpass. But the locals protested. We stopped at a tunnel at the intersection with Berzarin Street.
"I think that the overpass was not a very optimal option. Therefore, judging by the project, such a tunnel is good enough, worthy." “It will go down after all. It will be quieter and calmer,” local residents believe.
The tunnel will become part of the North-West Expressway. Its planned width is six lanes, and the People's Militia is four. In order not to get a narrow "neck", I had to expand. With conventional technology, the tunnels would run too close to the foundations of houses.
"Building a" winchester "tunnel is not an easy decision, it was made exclusively at the request of residents. If we were to build two standard tunnels, it would be quite close to houses," the Deputy Mayor in the Moscow Government for Urban Development emphasizes in an interview with the program. politics and construction Marat Khusnullin.
The length of the tunnel is almost 800 meters. This will remove three traffic lights from Tukhachevsky, Berzarin, Biryuzova streets. Drivers complain about them tirelessly.
"The problem is in traffic lights, especially at" Oktyabrsky Pole ". Everything is worth it. "" Here at rush hour and up to half an hour, you can stand, "- say the drivers.
On both sides of the tunnel, a lane will be left for public transport and private - so that residents of houses on Narodnogo militia street can freely drive up to their homes. For pedestrians - five underground crossings. Additional turns will be built on the free site above the tunnel. During construction, the number of lanes will not decrease. All four lanes will move closer to the odd side of the street. For those traveling in the direction of Leningradka, the temporary lane has already been opened. For those who will move to Marshal Zhukov, now it is being completed. And the first cars will go through the new tunnel next year.
Text: "Vesti-Moscow"
Three unique man-made structures were built on Northwest Expressway... This is the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, a winchester-type tunnel at the intersection of ul. People's Militia from st. Berzarin and the girder bridge across the gateway No. 9 of the Canal named after Moscow. These engineering decisions had to be made to implement projects in a densely built urban environment.
“Three unique man-made structures were built on Northwest Expressway, - said the head Moscow Construction Department Andrey Bochkarev... - This is the Alabyano-Baltic tunnel, a winchester-type tunnel at the intersection of ul. People's Militia from st. Berzarin and the girder bridge across the gateway No. 9 of the Canal named after Moscow. These engineering decisions had to be made to implement projects in a densely built urban environment. "
The length of the Alabyano-Baltic Tunnel is 1935 meters, the covered part is 1565 meters. The maximum depth is 29 meters. The tunnel passes under Leningradsky Prospekt and two transport tunnels (Volokolamsky and Leningradsky) and the Zamoskvoretskaya metro line, connecting Alabyan and Bolshaya Akademicheskaya streets. This is the only tunnel in the world that passes under such active transport arteries, and its construction was carried out without stopping traffic.
The uniqueness of the second tunnel lies in the fact that the oncoming streams of cars move one above the other for almost 100 meters. This feature is associated with dense development on Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street, it was necessary to ensure the normative deviation of the tunnel from residential buildings. There are no analogues to such a winchester tunnel not only in Moscow, but also in Russia. The length of the tunnel is 786 meters.
Initially, it was proposed to build the bridge across the channel No. 9 of the Canal with a cable-stayed cable, it was the cables that were supposed to hold the longest span of more than 200 meters, more precisely 206. But in order to reduce the cost of the project, the task was to design a girder bridge. The 206 meter girder bridge span without additional supports is a unique solution. Designers and builders found a way out: they built two floating bridges from the two banks, as in Zaryadye, and connected them over the water surface of the canal. Onshore, more massive spans were assembled on solid scaffolds on the shore, and served as a counterweight for the central channel span, which was assembled into a canopy using unique 750-ton cranes.
During the construction of the North-West Expressway, 19 overpasses and 4 bridges with a total length of 8.205 km, 9 tunnels with a total length of 5.658 km, 18 underground pedestrian crossings, 11 overhead crossings and one pedestrian bridge were erected.