Revitalisation of the Emme river
The aim of the revitalisation of the Ämmeschache-Urtenesumpf reserve is to have the Emme itself reshape the channel as dynamically as possible in the future, thus re-establishing ecologically valuable space. This stretch of the river is located in an alluvial area of national importance.
GEOTEST Ltd is in charge of the geotechnical assessment of the construction project, as well as supervision of the following sub-projects:
Relocation of the flood-protection dam
The existing flood-protection dam will be relocated to give the Emme more space. Factors such as infiltration, overflow and the hydraulic bearing capacity are decisive for the construction of the new dam. Using numerous excavator trench measurements, GEOTEST assessed the material in the bank areas, as well as the quality of the subsoil. The remaining work will now be closely monitored by GEOTEST’s geotechnical engineers.
Mechanical bank widening on both sides of the river
Along the entire river stretch, bank widening, construction of a new bank protection system made of block-set, and formation of artificial fissures are in progress. The extracted material is continuously analysed by GEOTEST (material composition, water content) and allocated to the different dam components.
Disposal concept
During the excavation work, contaminated material was encountered unexpectedly. As a result, GEOTEST developed a disposal concept and provides a contamination expert to supervise the excavation work.