SSAB delivered the RR piles for this unique project where over 100 years old brick building was moved about 30 meters to new location. RR piles were used as supports during lifting of the building before moving it, on the foundations of the transfer lines as well as on the permanent foundations at the final location. Relocating this old freight station was a challenging project and this was actually the first time brick building has been relocated in Finland.

 

Old freight station was in the way of a new road, which led to many discussions revolving around the topic of should it be saved or demolished. It was built in year 1907 and it is an object of protection so it could not be demolished. Kreate was the only contractor who offered to relocate the whole building away under the new road. Kreate partnered-up with Kankareen Paalutus who took care of the piling.

Soil conditions on site contain quite stiff silty and sandy soils. Due to stiff soil conditions there were discussions on possible vibrations from installation of RR piles. Also use of RD piles to avoid vibrations were discussed. Contractor ended up using RR piles and sufficient monitoring of vibrations. Installation was done with hydraulic breaker, which compared to a hydraulic hammer, has smaller moving mass and quite low impact energy but higher impact frequency. Monitoring showed very small vibrations due to piling. Highest vibrations were caused by passing trains and excavators moving on site. 

The building itself is 50 meters long and 23 meters wide. Before the relocate, Kreate removed almost all dividing walls and the roof from the freight station. The freight station weighed originally about 5000 tons but after some demolition works the weight was cut down to just below 2000 tons.

Planning of the transfer to new location took about half a year, but the actual move was done in only three hours. It was moved 28 meters to east, 9 meters to south and 1.4 also meters higher than in the original location. Kreate wanted to remove and re-use the steel piles that were used under the transfer lines, removing them was successful and reusing them is still a possibility. In first designs, the transfer lines were planned to be ground-supported. However, Kreate decided to use steel piles in them to minimize the risks of settlements during moving phase.


SSAB delivered:

  • RR140/10-E S440J2H 3678m
  • RR140/8-E S440J2H 3396m
  • RR170/10-E S440J2H 480m 

Project organization:

  • Project owner: City of Tampere
  • Main contractor: Kreate
  • Piling contractor: Kankareen paalutus Oy
  • Principal, structural and geotechnical designer: A-Insinöörit

More information on RR®and RD® piles:www.ssab.com/infra