After the ground-breaking ceremony was held in August 2017 for the new substation of IBC Energie Wasser Chur at the corner of Masanserstrasse and Quaderstrasse, the securing of the construction pit was completed at the beginning of November. Space constraints and a tight schedule made the project a challenge.

On 17 August, the first excavator shovel cut into the soil at the construction site (image 1). A total of 19,000 cubic metres had to be excavated within the space of two months – no easy task between two busy roads in the heart of the metropolitan area. However, the task was completed with ingenuity and a high degree of coordination. The excavation and the securing of the construction pit were carried out in parallel (images 2, 3 and 4). The new substation will provide, among others, the hospitals, the old people’s homes, the old part of the city and the railway area with electricity and for that will transform the electric voltage from the high-voltage level (60,000 V) to the medium-voltage level (10,000 V). A total of 7 kilometres of non-tensioned nails, 120 tonnes of injection material and 450 cubic metres of shotcrete were used (images 5, 6 and 7).

The progress of the construction of the substation can be followed on our webcam.