New delay looms

Floods put the brakes on subway construction!

Mud as far as the eye can see. The clean-up work at the U2 construction site is in full swing.

(Bild: ©Wiener Linien/Christian Fürthner)

The damage caused by the flooding at the Pilgramgasse U2 construction site is enormous - construction machinery and tunnel excavators have been destroyed and construction work in the capital has been halted for the time being. The "Krone" was on site in the subway tunnel.

The floods were a challenge for Vienna. The fact that the city got through the situation well is thanks to the foresighted flood protection of past decades and the swift action of those responsible and emergency units who initiated comprehensive measures.

It was actually thought that the damage to the public transport infrastructure could be kept to a minimum. But now, after more than two weeks of intensive clean-up work, the devastating extent has become apparent. The damage to the Pilgramgasse U2 construction site is enormous!

Laboriously brought in and laboriously brought out again. The tunnel excavator is carefully lifted out of the construction site.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Massive water ingress despite protective measures
The massive ingress of water destroyed the special construction machinery and vehicles in the shaft at Rechte Wienzeile. A total of 19,000 cubic meters of water entered the construction site on 15 September 2024. The employees had to leave the construction site at the time. The water in the shaft was 10 meters high. The masses of water and sludge then had to be pumped out of the shaft and removed for days - even though a flood protection wall was installed near the Wien River.

Mud as far as the eye can see. The recovery work is currently in full swing.

(Bild: ©Wiener Linien/Christian Fürthner)

But it gets worse: the enormous masses of water from the 1000-year flood have also severely damaged the bed of the Wien River in parts of the U2 construction area. However, an intact river bed is necessary in order to be able to carry out the tunnel work. The slabs of the Wien River serve as a working platform on which construction equipment is also deposited. During the "Krone" local inspection on Wednesday, the last large special machines, such as drilling rigs and tunnel excavators, had just been dismantled and lifted out of the excavation pit with a crane.

Is there now a threat of further construction delays?
It was only announced in August 2024 that the opening of the U2 line to Matzleinsdorfer Platz will be postponed until 2030. A whole two years later than planned. Due to "geological challenges" and water ingress. The construction costs have also exploded: the first construction phase of the billion-euro project will cost up to 300 million euros more. And when will the U2 finally run again between Karlsplatz and Schottentor stations? According to Public Transport City Councillor Peter Hanke (SPÖ), the U2 should be running continuously again "at the end of October plus maybe two weeks".

There will be a month-long delay in the Pilgramgasse area of the U2 construction site. However, the effects on the overall project cannot yet be estimated.

Gudrun Senk, technische Geschäftsführerin der Wiener Linien

Bild: Jöchl Martin

Wiener Linien must now work with the construction companies to acquire replacement equipment in order to resume work here as quickly as possible. The only thing that is certain is that there will be a month-long construction delay in the Pilgramgasse area. Neither the financial extent nor the temporal effects on the overall project can be specified at present. Together with the construction companies and the MA45 (Vienna Waterways), a solution is being worked on for a rapid repair in the construction area.

"There are currently eight major construction sites. The teams that were working here have been relocated. Construction should not be delayed. We don't want to lose any time," asserts Wiener Linien board member Gudrun Senk.