Year: 2015

Kalliorakennus-Yhtiöt Oy has won the Kivenlahti station and rail tunnel excavation contract for Länsimetro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section. Kalliorakennus will excavate the site of the Kivenlahti station, approximately 2 kilometres of parallel tunnels, a rail switching hall and the necessary shafts to the surface. This contract is worth EUR 26.3 million and work will begin in December.

– The excavation of the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section continues with the excavation of stations and rail tunnels. The excavation works will continue until the end of 2017, says Matti Kokkinen, CEO of Länsimetro Oy.

The section from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti will be seven kilometres long and include the new stations of Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti. In addition, an underground metro depot will be constructed at Sammalvuori. The stretch will be opened to traffic in 2020. Traffic to Matinkylä will begin on 15 August 2016.

Further information:
Matti Kokkinen, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 50 347 1558, matti.kokkinen(at)lansimetro.fi

The excavation for the Kivenlahti metro station and rail tunnel will begin soon, with Kalliorakennus-Yhtiöt Oy as the excavation contractor. The work will begin immediately after the completion of the excavation of the access tunnel during November and December. The Kivenlahti worksite area will expand, resulting in Kivenlahdentie to be closed for traffic between Kivenlahdenkatu and Merivirta as of 4 January 2016. An entrance to the station will be built on Kivenlahdentie. Car and bus traffic will be directed to an alternative route as seen in the attached map. There will be no bus traffic in the closed area. The bus stops on Kivenlahdenkatu and Merivirta will be in use as usual, and two new bus stops will be added along Merivirta. Pedestrian and cycle traffic on Kivenlahdentie will be directed around the worksite area. Merivirta will also be equipped with pedestrian crossing traffic lights.

Another entrance to the station, the Kivenlahdentori entrance, will be built on the site of the temporary dog park. Work on the site will begin with earthmoving. The dog park will be relocated west of the worksite area. The dog park will permanently move to Ruukinmäki in the summer of 2016.

These temporary traffic arrangements will remain in force until the construction process is complete, at least until 2020.

Working hours at the site, as determined by the Espoo Environment Institute, are as follows:
Earthwork and open excavation
• Mon–Fri 7.00–18.00 (and if no disturbance is caused to people indoors, also 18.00–22.00 and Sat 9.00–18.00)
Tunnel excavation (grout hole drilling, drilling, scaling)
• Mon–Fri 7.00–18.00 (and if no disturbance is caused to people indoors, also 18.00–7.00)
Blasting in the tunnel
• Mon–Fri 7.00–22.00 and Sat 9.00–18.00
Loading of excavated rock and transportation
• Mon–Fri 7.00–22.00 and weekends 9.00–22.00
• Mon–Fri 22.00–7.00 and weekends 22.00–9.00 if no disturbance is caused to the neighbourhood

Excavated rock will be taken to Länsiväylä and further afield for use in other construction projects. Haulage will be based on the blasting times. Blasting will occur 1–3 times a day. Excavation is estimated to continue until the end of 2017.

The monitoring service available on the Länsimetro website shows the rail line and the location of stations and shafts. You can also monitor the progress of excavation work at the service.

A briefing for residents will be held at Maininki School on 1 December at 19.00, explaining about the project, building site arrangements and excavation.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Further information:
Länsimetro feedback phone number (Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-3 p.m.), tel. +358 50 377 3700
Kalliorakennus-Yhtiöt Oy, Site Manager Meeri Kaartinen, meeri.kaartinen@kalliorakennus
24-hour hotline for the site +358 50 342 2461

Sheet piles will be installed in the road construction site at the east end of Suomenlahdentie from Wednesday 28 October 2015 onwards. The sheeting work is expected to take a week.

Several existing sheets will be removed and new sheets will be installed for cable excavations. Potentially noisy work will be performed on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6. p.m.

We apologise for any disturbance this work may cause.

Further information:
Esa Virtanen, Lemminkäinen Infra Oy, tel. 0400 404 201

The construction of the Koivusaari metro station, carried out by SRV Rakennus Oy, has won the ‘Safest Metro Construction Site’ competition, arranged by Länsimetro. The competition period was from 1 January to 30 June. The competition is organised at every six months, with all the current projects participating.

The current Länsimetro projects were assessed on the basis of accident frequency and civil engineering measurements (‘MVR’ in Finnish, referring to the assessment and development of safety at civil engineering construction sites). The MVR measurements for each project were weighted by 80% in the evaluation, and accident frequency by 20%.

The competition emphasised MVR measurements. Each contractor makes a weekly MVR measurement round to determine the situation and safety level at the site. These weekly inspections reveal any shortcomings in construction site safety while acknowledging the things that have been carried out properly.

The construction site was presented with the Länsimetro ‘Safest Metro Construction Site’ competition trophy, a gilded piece of rail track. The competition trophy was now presented for the tenth time.

The excavation of the Soukka access tunnel began in January 2015 and will be completed soon. After that, the project will proceed to the excavation of the Soukka metro station and rail tunnel. Skanska Infra Oy is the excavation contractor of this entity. The work will begin immediately after the completion of the excavation of the access tunnel during October.

Working hours at the site, as determined by the Espoo Environment Institute, are as follows:
Earthwork and open excavation
• Mon–Fri 7.00–18.00 (quiet work also between 18.00–22.00, Sat 9.00–18.00)
Tunnel excavation (grout hole drilling, drilling, scaling)
• Mon–Fri 7.00–18.00 (quiet work also between 18.00–7.00)
Blasting in the tunnel
• Mon–Fri 7.00–22.00 and Sat 9.00–18.00
Loading of excavated rock and transportation
• Mon–Fri 7.00–22.00 and weekends 9.00–22.00
• If no disturbance is caused to residents, also: Mon–Fri 22.00–7.00 and weekends
22.00–9.00

Excavated rock will be taken to Länsiväylä and further afield for use in other construction projects. Haulage will be based on the blasting times. Blasting will occur 1–3 times a day.
The monitoring service available on the Länsimetro website shows the rail line and the location of stations and shafts. You can also monitor the progress of excavation work at the service.

A briefing for residents on the project and excavations will be held in the Soukka School (Soukankuja 5) on Tuesday 6 October at 18.00. We apologise for any disturbance caused by the work.

More information:
Skanska Infra Oy, responsible Site Manager Lauri Harri, lauri.harri(at)skanska.fi, tel. +358 50 560 9092
Länsimetro feedback phone, Mon–Fri 9.00–15.00, tel. +358 50 377 3700

Skanska Infra Oy has won the first station and rail tunnel excavation contract for Länsimetro’s Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section. Skanska will excavate the site of the Soukka station, approximately 1.5 kilometres of twin tunnel, a rail switching hall and the necessary shafts to the surface. This contract is worth EUR 26.9 million and work will begin in October.

– Construction of the Länsimetro line from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti is progressing according to plan. The metro will enable the development of the regions surrounding the stations and provide the Espoonlahti Centre with a connection to the metro, in addition to Tapiola and Matinkylä, said Olli Isotalo, Chairman of the Board of Länsimetro and Head of Technical and Environment Services in Espoo.

– This contract forms part of a large project portfolio and marks the continuation of our cooperation that dates back to 2011. The previous contracts delivered by Skanska Infra included the excavation of the metro and connection tunnels and shafts related to the Tapiola station, as well as the construction of the tunnel between Ruoholahti and Lauttasaari. Skanska is also responsible for the ongoing construction of the Keilaniemi and Lauttasaari metro stations, said Ari Huovila, Managing Director of Skanska Infra Oy.

Two other contracts were also signed on 24 September. Drillcon SMOY will supply rock mechanical monitoring systems for Länsimetro. The total contract price is EUR 580,000. Finnrock Oy was selected to perform property reviews and vibration monitoring in the area affected by excavation. The contract price is EUR 250,000.

Excavation of the access tunnels in the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section began in December 2014. After they have been completed, the excavation of stations and rail tunnels will begin and continue into the latter part of 2017. The Matinkylä–Kivenlahti stretch is seven kilometres long. The new stations will be Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and Kivenlahti. The stretch will be opened to traffic in 2020. Traffic to Matinkylä will begin on 15 August 2016.

Further information:
Olli Isotalo, Chairman of the Board, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 50 593 3359, olli.isotalo(at)espoo.fi

Matti Kokkinen, CEO, Länsimetro Oy, tel. +358 50 347 1558, matti.kokkinen@lansimetro.fi
Teuvo Suominen, Head of Unit, Skanska Infra Oy, tel. +358 40 771 0452, teuvo.suominen(at)skanska.fi

Länsimetro Oy is a company jointly owned by the Cities of Espoo and Helsinki, tasked with building the West Metro underground line. The objective is that most of the Ruoholahti – Matinkylä section will be completed by the end of 2015. Construction of the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section is under way. This stretch will be completed in 2020.

Construction of the west metro northern escalator building connected to the Tapiola station will begin in September 2015 in the area between Merituulentie and Länsituulentie.

The work that involves open excavation, moving of earth and blasted stone, loading and removal, begins in the second week of September as fences are erected and earth excavated. The actual excavation of rock, that begins in the third week of September, is estimated to last two months. The estimated time of completion is summer 2016.

Working hours for excavation:
– weekdays 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
– Saturdays 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

More information:
Lemminkäinen Infra Oy, Tapiola metro station’s construction project’s on-call duty telephone number 050 523 3373
Lemminkäinen Oy Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-3 p.m., tel. 020 71 5000
Länsimetro feedback phone number (Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-3 p.m.), tel. 050 377 3700

Sadly, Olavi Louko (M.Sc.Tech), Länsimetro’s Chairman of the Board, passed away on 9 August 2015. Olavi began working on the construction of the west metro line during the environmental impact assessment of the project in the early years of the new millennium. Planning of the west metro began in 2007 and the decision to go ahead with construction was taken by Espoo City Council in 2008. The actual building of the metro line began in Espoo in spring 2010.

While the Ruoholahti–Matinkylä section was under construction, Louko was in charge of preparing the project’s second construction stage, including negotiations with the central government. Construction of the Matinkylä–Kivenlahti section began in late autumn 2014. Louko has been Chairman of the Board of Länsimetro Oy since the company was established in 2007.

The personnel and Board of Länsimetro express their deepest condolences to Olavi Louko’s family.

The construction of the Niittykumpu metro station, carried out by Lemminkäinen Infra Oy, has won the ‘Safest Metro Construction Site’ competition, arranged by Länsimetro. The review period was from July to December, 2014. The competition is organised at every six months, with all the current projects participating.

The current Länsimetro projects were assessed on the basis of accident frequency and civil engineering measurements (‘MVR’ in Finnish, referring to the assessment and development of safety at civil engineering construction sites). The MVR measurements for each project were weighted by 80% in the evaluation, and accident frequency by 20%.

The competition emphasised MVR measurements. Each contractor makes a weekly MVR measurement round to determine the situation and safety level at the site. These weekly inspections reveal any shortcomings in construction site safety while acknowledging the things that have been carried out properly.

The construction site was presented with the Länsimetro ‘Safest Metro Construction Site’ competition trophy, a gilded piece of rail track.

More information:
Länsimetro Oy, CEO Matti Kokkinen, tel. +358 50 347 1558, matti.kokkinen(at)lansimetro.fi