DutchAmsterdam.nl — The giant drilling machine tunneling its way through the ground underneath Amsterdam’s centuries-old inner city has reached Dam square.
The drilling started at the end of last March underneath the water at Damrak, close to Central Station. At a speed of 15 meters a day it has already passed two state monuments — the Beurs van Berlage (the former stock market) and the Bijenkorf warehouse. The historic buildings incurred no damage.
Bijenkorf
Just before the drilling commenced the owners of the Bijenkorf demanded that the project be delayed so that additional risk studies could be performed.
Earlier the building of underground stations for the controversial, problem-plagued North-South metro line had caused some historic buildings to subside to the extend that they were severely damaged.
The Municipality of Amsterdam prevented further delays but did have the project install extra measuring equipment to monitor the effects of the drilling.
De Bijenkorf did subside a few millimeters but the settlement was well within stringent standards, a spokesman for the North-South line told Reuters.
During the drilling process a variety of methods are used to stabilize the ground — including freezing the area in the direct vicinity of the drill or injecting grout.
The drill is expected to reach the future station at Rokin in early July.
The project’s progress can be followed at the Dutch-language HierZijnWeNu.nl
(‘this is where we are now’) website
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