Monitoring the environment for the new E6 motorway

The new E6 motorway past Lillehammer is well underway. A new four-lane motorway is being built. Cautus Geo monitors water quality, vibrations, noise and dust. Vulnerable nature will be protected.

AF Gruppen is building a new motorway past Lillehammer. The assignment is divided into two major contracts: Roterud-Storhove in Gjøvik and Lillehammer municipality and Storhove-Øyer in Lillehammer and Øyer municipality.

The state administrator has set emission requirements. The new motorway largely follows the current E6, but a new bridge will be built to cross the Lågendelta and a new tunnel will shield the residents of Fåberg from traffic and noise. In addition, 4.5 kilometres of the current E6 will be demolished. There, nature will once again take over. Among other things, this will contribute to 40 hectares of newly cultivated land.

In Øyer, there will be a new pedestrian and cycle path. The assignment also includes a wildlife fence, a new municipal water pipeline through the tunnel, and landslide and safety measures.

Decisive

- Automatic monitoring with alerts is crucial. The area is large. There's a lot to look after. So we need to use technology that continuously monitors and alerts," says Environment and Quality Manager Morten Martinsen at AF Gruppen.

Cautus Geo started instrumentation for monitoring the external environment in the new E6 project in autumn 2023. Continuous and automatic monitoring and logging of water quality, noise, vibrations and later also groundwater monitoring, water sampling and pore pressure have been established to ensure water supplies in the area.

- We have established a significant number of measuring stations. Data is continuously fed into Cautus Web. Everything can be read in near real time, and automatic alerts have been established if defined limit values are breached," says geologist Sigmund Brekke Langelid, head of field operations at Cautus Geo.

Crossing the river

The Lågendelta to be crossed is one of Norway's largest inland deltas. The road comes close to the important nature reserve.

- A good part of what is monitored and logged concerns Lågen. Neighbouring rivers and streams are also included. "For us, it's about maintaining control and ensuring that we do things correctly in accordance with permits, guidelines, regulations and the zoning plan," says Martinsen.

The state administrator has granted discharge permits under the Pollution Control Act for construction activities, tunnelling, dredging and filling in Lake Mjøsa, the construction of a new bridge over Lågen and the reuse of blasted rock from the Brøttum formation.

- "We also need to have continuous monitoring to capture things that don't come from us, such as variations throughout the year. This cannot be captured by snapshots. So we need continuous data," says Martinsen.

All external environment

Much of the instrumentation carried out by Cautus Geo is naturally concerned with environmental monitoring in water, Lågen and what affects Lake Mjøsa, but the assignment includes all aspects of the external environment.

- In addition, we will be monitoring pore pressure and drinking water sources when the tunnel work starts. "The environmental monitoring for the new E6 motorway in Inland Norway is complex, wide-ranging and extends over several years. It's one of the more long-term projects we're working on at the moment," says Kim Lindmark, Head of Sales at Cautus Geo.

- "The implementation of major transport projects is dependent on systems for continuous and automatic monitoring. It's necessary and the right way to do it in order to control environmental impact," says Martinsen.

Technology for environmental monitoring on the new E6 motorway

• Sensors - multi-parameter probes measure turbidity, conductivity, pH and temperature in water.
• Pore pressure gauges - monitors subsidence and groundwater levels.
• Noise meters - log noise in accordance with set limit values. Particulate matter and vibrations must also be measured continuously.
• CL1 data loggers and a selection of different technologies.
• Cautus web - Web solution set up with automatic notification if defined levels are breached.