Damage caused by S-Link?

Old town residents fear rail vibrations

The Schliesselberger family's building (pink façade) at Lederergasse 3 borders directly on the first city wall dating back to 1280.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Cracks, subsidence, risk of collapse - the owners of historic buildings in Salzburg's old town fear the worst if excavations are carried out under their houses. Two experts who have been asked for their opinions have also given them cause for concern. But the S-Link project company vehemently opposes this.

"Every time you touch an old town house, you run the risk of something happening. If even one old pillar starts to tip, the whole house collapses like a house of cards!" Walter Hebsacker is alarmed. He was Director of Construction for the City of Salzburg for 28 years, and twice he had the S-Link project - the partly underground extension of the Salzburg local line to Hallein - on the table. Both times it was scrapped. The concerns were too great at the time.

Today, the retired municipal official still fears for the future of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just like 22 building owners on the right-hand side of the old town - from Lederergasse and Platzl to Linzergasse. At the forefront are Moritz Schliesselberger, owner of the oldest store in the city of Salzburg and co-owner of an 800-year-old house, and his neighbor Dieter Hofer, co-owner of a building first mentioned in 1365.

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In future, the S-Link will run a good 20 meters below their listed buildings. Two tunnel tubes, each eight meters in diameter, will be dug into the notorious Salzburg lake clay.

Two independent geotechnical (3P Geotechnik ZT GmbH) and structural (DI Zipperer ZT Gmbh) experts commissioned by local residents have now issued statements urgently advising against tunneling under the old town, warning of "massive negative effects" on the buildings. Cracks and subsidence are unavoidable, damage is inevitable despite modern construction methods.

The houses are up to 800 years old and have no firm foundations. If they were to be secured against subsidence and tilting, the historic floors would have to be torn out and concrete pressed under the houses.

Dieter Hofer, Miteigentümer des historischen Münchnerhofs an der Dreifaltigkeitsgasse.

S-Link company rejects all accusations
The project company counters with its 200 specialist planners. They take the concerns seriously, but: "If we weren't sure that there would be no damage, we wouldn't build there at all." Too little consideration was given in the expert opinions of the local residents. With state-of-the-art technology, the houses could be protected in the best possible way and vibrations minimized, they say. Protecting the old town and its residents is also a top priority.

The exact route for this second construction phase has not yet been finalized. The ground investigations are currently being completed. Only on the basis of these findings can well-founded statements be made about the buildings, argues the project company. What is certain is that there will be an environmental impact assessment procedure in which local residents can express their concerns.

Commentary by Magdalena Mistlberger: Super-GAU
Ideally, the construction work for the S-Link will proceed without incident and exactly according to plan. Ideally, Salzburg will not only get an underground extension of the Salzburger Lokalbahn, but also a comprehensive transport solution with the Messe-Bahn and Stiegl-Bahn that solves the city's congestion problem once and for all. Ideally, the costs will not explode, so that there will still be money left over for various crises. But even the worst-case scenario must be taken into account with the S-Link. To prevent a worst-case scenario, you have to expect the worst, not the ideal case.