Safeguards to follow

Plöckenpass: work continues after rock blasting

The masses of rock were removed with excavators and heavy equipment.

(Bild: Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia)

An important work step has now been completed on the Italian side of the Plöcken Pass: 800 cubic meters of rock have been blasted and most of it has already been removed. According to the regional councillor responsible, the project is still on schedule.

A large rocky outcrop hung over the road on the Italian side of the Plöcken Pass, the "Passo Monte Croce Carnico", like a sword of Damocles: a gap 50 to 70 centimetres wide separated around 500 cubic meters of rock from the mountainside. "The rock mass remained unstable after the landslide and must be removed by controlled blasting," explained the responsible regional councillor Cristina Amirante in Udine on July 22.

Climbers placed explosive charges
Extensive preparations were necessary before the blasting was carried out the following day. Since the end of May, ten specialized climbers had been busy on the rock placing micro-charges of explosives (150 kilograms in total) in the 50 boreholes. A special via ferrata was even set up for this purpose.

Ten specialized climbers placed the explosive charges.

(Bild: Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia)

A total of 800 cubic meters of rock was removed by the blasting. On the morning of the blasting, the entire area was closed off and monitored with drones - a siren then announced the explosion. "After the demolition, further minor blasting and mechanical work will be carried out to profile the site and remove any remaining unstable rocks, as well as the fallen material," says Amirante, explaining the rest of the process.

According to the regional councillor, this work has now been successful. "The entire demolition phase was completed on time. All activity on the wall has been completed," said Cristina Amirante on Saturday, August 10, expressing her satisfaction. A monitoring system is now to be installed. "Mechanical spiders have been working on the slope below the slide wall for days, and more than half of the slope has been cleaned up to above the level of the existing access road to the construction site."

Although the weather conditions in May and June were not the best, the construction site is proceeding according to plan.

Cristina Amirante, Regionalrätin Friaul-Julisch-Venetien

Bild: Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia

Bridging the gap for a long-term solution
Avalanche screens are to provide additional protection for the workers on the pass who are securing the traffic route. "The crucial demolition phase is now complete and the construction phase of all the protective measures required to protect the road and the serpentines can begin," explains Amirante, noting: "This will allow us to bridge the gap until an alternative solution is implemented." However, this will be a longer-term project - a tunnel solution, as some are calling for, will probably take over ten years.