Monitoring the ground for the new E18
Cautus Geo is monitoring the ground for the new E18 motorway - "Crucial safety measures," say geotechnical engineer Marte Sundby Nybo and project manager Mariusz Wozniak at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
31. May 2022
Written by Rino Andersen
The ground conditions for the new E18 motorway from Lysaker to Ramstadsletta consist of a lot of soft clay soil. Depths to rock vary and there is a lot of infrastructure in the ground. Traffic must flow as unhindered as possible. Many people live and work close to the site. The project managers for the new motorway have a lot to look after.
- "Cautus Geo's solution with Cautus Web is absolutely crucial. It allows us to read the pore pressure where we are. It saves us an enormous amount of time. In addition, the system is set up with alerts. If something happens to the pore pressure/groundwater, the alarm goes off and many people are alerted at the same time. So we can react quickly," say Marte Sundby Nybo and Mariusz Wozniak.
SVV's organisation on the E18 project has 70 employees. In addition, there are many external employees from various subcontractors. Many of them need to be informed about Cautus Web alerts about changes in pore pressure and groundwater that can cause subsidence damage to buildings and infrastructure.
179 meters
Around 50 new pore pressure gauges will initially be installed in the ground. Cautus Geo is planning implementation in early summer. Further installations will follow and old meters will be replaced. When everything is in place, the groundwater level from Lysaker to Ramstad will be monitored in real time with data from 179 meters. All data will be continuously read and displayed in Cautus Web.
Many neighbours of the road facility are directly affected. Several meters are installed in private gardens and driveways.
- "We understand that many people may react to drilling in driveways and gardens, but it's about preventing damage. It's a safety measure for the buildings. It's about securing the properties against subsidence damage," say Nybo and Wozniak.
Traffic diversion
The E18 west of Oslo is one of the country's busiest roads. 90,000 vehicles pass every day.
- The E18 must work. "The cars will get through, but there will be several diversions in both directions for many years. The goal is to have as few as possible, but it will be noticeable with reduced speed and changed driving patterns," say Nybo and Wozniak.
The large construction site is an important workplace for Cautus Geo. In addition to groundwater monitoring, Cautus Geo is involved in the area through the KlimaGrunn research project and other projects close to the construction work on the new E18 motorway.
- We are involved in many different projects in the area, which is practically right outside our office doors," says CTO Lars Krangnes of Cautus Geo.
- The new E18 motorway is a major project. Much of the installation work is being done this year, but next year and the year after (2024) we will also be installing new meters. For many years to come, they will send real-time data to Cautus Web," says project manager Håvard Hind of Cautus Geo.
Three stretches
The new E18 is being built from Lysaker to Drengsrud near the centre of Asker and is the so-called Western Corridor included in Oslo Package Three. The stretch is over seventeen kilometres long. The work now being carried out on the section from Lysaker to Ramstad is the first section. This section is 4.4 kilometres long.
The plan is for the next section, from Ramstad to Nesbru, to be regulated this year. Work on the section from Nesbru to Drengsrud is planned as the third and final section of the Western Corridor.
