Smart road construction in the Gubrist Tunnel

Seamless paving job in Switzerland’s widest tunnel featuring the Vögele SUPER 2100-3i paver.

Seamless paving job in Switzerland’s widest tunnel

The 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m) width paving of the Gubrist Tunnel demanded optimal coordination and maximum efficiency. That’s why contractor Marti AG Solothurn chose Vögele’s WITOS Paving Plus software-based process optimization solution to drive the digital job site. It interlinks all the involved parties in real time, and offers lots of benefits, particularly on large-scale projects.


It’s one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Switzerland:

  • The third tube of the 2 mile (3.2 km) long Gubrist Tunnel is scheduled to open in 2022 as part of the northern bypass route around the city of Zurich.
  • With a diameter of 52 ft 6 in (16 m), it is the largest tunnel tube in the country, and is intended to ease chronic congestion on the route by providing three additional lanes toward St. Gallen and Berne.
  • The approximately 22,046 US t (20,000 metric tons) of asphalt had to be paved on a tight schedule, meeting the highest quality standards, in the face of complex tunnel logistics, while navigating the need to work side by side and in heavy traffic.

“As one of the largest construction companies in Switzerland, the Marti Group has for years been actively driving digital transformation in all its sectors, from building construction to civil engineering. On a project of this scale, it was obvious to us that we should deploy a solution that would not only allow us to map the planning digitally, but also to actively control the processes on the job site.”

Cedric Berrut, Civil Engineering Operations Manager

Networked system solution

WITOS Paving Plus interlinks all the parties involved, from the site manager, mixing foreman and paving foreman, to the paver operator. It consists of five modules: Control, Materials, Transport, Jobsite, and Analysis. That means job site planning, mix supply and transportation, the asphalt paving, and subsequent process analysis can all be managed by a single system in real time. It enables just-in-time delivery to the job site and continuous paving without having to stop the paver, among other benefits. The paving team is able to respond in a targeted way to any disruptions in the process.

Tolles Produkt

Intelligent process control and state-of-the-art machine technology

The job site was a first for the contractor in other respects too: At 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m), it was the widest seamless paving job undertaken in Switzerland to date. That's why Marti also added two more Vögele machines to its fleet: The high-performance MT 3000-2i Offset mobile feeder and the SUPER 2100-3i paver combined with the SB 300 fixed-width screed. A 3 in (8 cm) thick foundation, base and binder course and a 1.6 in (4 cm) thick surface course were to be paved in two phases over a total distance of 2 miles (3.2 km).

Tolles Produkt

WITOS Paving Plus simplifies logistics

Paving in the Gubrist Tunnel posed a number of logistical challenges to the planners, site management and paving team. The mixing plant is located some 60 miles (100 km) away at Walliswil near Niederbipp. To avoid traffic jams on the busy route, and minimize delays caused by side by side working in the tunnel, Marti decided to pave at night. The Vögele process optimization solution helped to coordinate the logistics. The planner used the Control module to record and monitor all the key parameters, the required machines, the material quantities and their scheduling. The system transmitted the calculated number of trucks to the mixing plant, cross-checked the figure against the plant’s data, and from that calculated the truck scheduling and on-site arrival times. “The planning and production of the mix was much more precise,” Berrut reports. “As a result, we were able to optimally coordinate the paving and compaction processes with the material deliveries.”

The WITOS Paving Plus Materials module incorporated display of truck scheduling and on-site arrival times.

Continuous paving, improved capacity utilization

The Jobsite module provided the foremen, supervisors and paver operators with a real-time overview of of construction progress, the paving rate and mix delivery throughout the project. They could identify any deviations from the plan in terms of paving duration, distance or mix quantities on a tablet or on the operator's console and respond as required. “That meant we could ensure continuous paving, and so guarantee the right quality,” says Berrut. The Analysis module provided the proof that the precise scheduling significantly reduced waiting times and meant fewer asphalt trucks were needed than on comparable job sites. “That ultimately results in reduced material and transport costs, lower emissions, better capacity utilization, and at the same time higher quality.”

The WITOS Paving Plus Jobsite module acting as the scheduler: The paving team were provided with a real-time overview of the construction progress, the paving rate and mix delivery on their tablets, enabling them to respond rapidly if required.

A practical system offering great potential

Another advantage of the WITOS Paving Plus system is that it can operate even under difficult conditions such as in the Gubrist Tunnel. To ensure reliable data transmission, Marti used a GSM network routed into the tunnel by additional antennas. Berrut continues: “The job demonstrated that WITOS Paving Plus is a practical solution for us that offers great potential. It integrates well with our digital infrastructure and provides data that we can use for our BIM models. That’s a key aspect which we are continuing to develop together with Vögele.” Marti is planning to deploy the system in the future on all its cantonal and federal road construction, as well as larger projects.

Seamless for width of 11.5 m

In combination with the SUPER 2100-3i, the SB 300 fixed-width screed achieves pave widths of up to 42 ft 8 in (13 m), and so was ideal for seamless paving of the three-lane road.

Real time overview

The jobsite module by WITOS Paving Plus provided the paver operators with a real-time overview of of construction progress, the paving rate and mix delivery throughout the project.

Rapid response

Foremen and supervisors could identify any deviations from the plan in terms of paving duration, distance or mix quantities on a tablet and respond as required.

Exact scheduling

WITOS Paving Plus transmitted the calculated number of trucks to the mixing plant, cross-checked the figure against the plant’s data, and from that calculated the truck scheduling and on-site arrival times.

More efficiency

The evaluation in the analysis module showed that the waiting times at the job site were significantly reduced and that less material trucks are needed than for comparable measures.

In combination with the SUPER 2100-3i, the SB 300 fixed-width screed achieves pave widths of up to 42 ft 8 in (13 m).
The jobsite module by WITOS Paving Plus provided the paver operators throughout the project with a real-time overview on the paver operator’s ErgoPlus 3 console .
Foremen and supervisors could identify any deviations from the plan on a tablet and respond as required.
WITOS Paving Plus transmitted the calculated number of trucks to the mixing plant.
Analysis module of WITOS Paving Plus

You can find details and more information on our product pages.

Road pavers Highway Class

Road pavers Highway Class

Fixed-Width Screeds

Fixed-Width Screeds

PowerFeeders | Mobile feeders

WITOS Paving