A special ground stabilization technique is being implemented along the Kichevo – Ohrid motorway section near the village of Botun, creating a solid underground structure designed to ensure the stability of the foundation of the motorway, Macedonian Minister of Transport and Deputy Prime Minister AleksandarNikoloski on Thursday.
Nikoloski and the director of the Public Enterprise State Roads (PESR), KoceTrajanovski, inspected the site Thursday and observed a demonstration of the installation of a reinforcement cage for one of the concrete piles at a depth of approximately 20 meters.
“We have brought together Macedonia’s greatest minds and professors, in collaboration with international scientists, to devise this solution. Machines weighing 130 tons each are in operation, there are three of them currently, with a total of five brought in from abroad. These machines penetrate 20 to 28 meters into the ground, equivalent to the height of a 7- to 11-story building. Reinforcement cages, each containing 30 tons of steel, are lowered into place and filled with concrete. Pipes and steel cables connect them, effectively creating a unified underground structure designed to support the motorway’s foundation,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nikoloski.
He added that there will be 163 such concrete piles near Botun, with the remainder located along the rest of the motorway route.
The head of the Public Enterprise State Roads noted that this project was being executed in coordination and cooperation with engineers from China.
According to Nikoloski, while the galleries may be the most visually striking feature of the route, this section represents by far the most challenging engineering aspect of the Kichevo-Ohridmotorway construction.
