Finland and Estonia are Baltic sea neighbors separated by the Gulf of Finland. Over eight million travelers and 1.2 million cars travel between Helsinki and Tallinn every year by boat. However, a consortium of companies is now planning to build the Finest railway tunnel between the two countries.<\/p>\n The vision of such a tunnel has been around since the 1990s. In June 2016, Peter Vesterbacka<\/strong>, previously known as the marketer behind Rovio\u2019s Angry Birds, made the latest endeavor public in his AEC Hackathon presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vesterbacka and Kustaa Valtonen<\/strong> founded Finest Bay Area Development Oy, which is now developing the project together with A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit, P\u00f6yry, and Fira. The private sector project is also supported by the governments of Finland and Estonia.<\/p>\n Timo Saanio<\/strong> is a specialist in underground construction at A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit<\/a>. His portfolio includes several tunnel projects and deep geological repositories for nuclear waste. He thinks that the Finest project is special in many ways: \u201cWe\u2019re not just connecting two cities. We\u2019re creating a new economic area, a twin city.\u201d<\/p>\n Saanio says that we can actually talk about Helsinki\u2019s southern metro line being able to take you to Tallinn in less than 30 minutes; for example, to go and have dinner, watch a hockey match, or to attend a concert.<\/p>\n BIM is an essential technology and process in the project. Jyrki Kein\u00e4nen,<\/strong> the CEO and Partner of A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit, says that BIM is vital from two points of view: design and project management.<\/p>\n \u201cCome to think of it, BIM is what brought our two companies together. We first came into contact with Vesterbacka and the project in Warsaw in 2016 when we received the Tekla BIM Award for Best Public Project,\u201d Kein\u00e4nen recalls.<\/p>\n The Finest tunnel project is now in the regional planning stage. There are three alternative routes that the tunnel could take. New terminals and two artificial islands are included in the project.<\/p>\n \u201cWith its 103-kilometer span, this will be by far the longest undersea tunnel in the world. Just to study the ground conditions is much more demanding than on dry land,\u201d says Saanio. \u201cFollowing the rules and regulations of two countries can also be tricky.\u201d<\/p>\n Finnish and Estonian authorities will do an environmental evaluation of all three routes in the near future. If everything goes as planned, the tunnel will open on 24 December 2024.<\/p>\n The tunnel is the biggest construction investment ever in Finland, with an estimated budget of EUR 15 billion. The traffic charges and the real estate development opportunities will make the investments eventually pay off. In addition, the new economic activity of the twin cities could increase Finland\u2019s gross national product by up to two percentage points.<\/p>\n The totality of designing the tunnel, managing the land masses, creating the islands, and constructing the buildings constitute a huge project. That\u2019s why the planning of the project itself is a critical task. Another essential exercise is to create a risk management plan that satisfies the investors and international banks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have already set up a big room equipped with a Cave for the project,\u201d Kein\u00e4nen describes. \u201cAnother Cave will be sited in Estonia. We\u2019ll make a digital twin of the project by combining the BIMs of all the design disciplines together.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cave technology makes it possible to do visual simulations during the design phase. A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit plans to use the Cave for test driving the trains, examining the safety functions, and for decision-making in general.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this project, the client requires us to use the latest technologies and methods. We even have a project innovation manager,\u201d Kein\u00e4nen explains.<\/p>\n A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit is developing new project management software for large ventures. It is based on visual project management. It can predict more accurately than any other existing system what will happen in a project. \u201cWe employ lessons that we learned, among others, at the particularly successful design of the Tampere Road Tunnel,\u201d says Saanio.<\/p>\n Saanio reminds how BIM is much more than just 3D modeling. Designers have to exchange object data between systems and output it into calculation software. They also want to use open geographic data provided by cities and governmental organizations. Information should flow without friction between parties and systems, which still needs improvement.<\/p>\n Kein\u00e4nen envisions a future where BIM can be used for construction management, logistics, site safety, risk management, training, and so on. Once the as-built model is complete and optimized for operations and maintenance, it can be handed over to the owner. The design team can continue to serve the owner after project completion and can update the digital twin while doing it.<\/p>\n \u201cTo make all this happen, the project management team must be able to define, from the get-go, the data requirements for each party. We will use building and infrastructure construction software side by side and we must make them to work together, which is a challenge\u201d Kein\u00e4nen admits.<\/p>\n \u201cThe models will be huge. Our dream system would be a Google-like service that would allow anybody to search and retrieve granular data from the digital twin, quickly and easily.\u201d<\/p>\n The title photo is courtesy of A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit<\/em><\/p>\n InfraBIM Open 2018 was the first conference in the world to focus on open infrastructure BIM. The event takes place in Tampere, Finland, on January 15-16, 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCreating a New Twin City<\/h2>\n
![\"Saanio](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/saanio-keinanen-ains-2.jpg\")
Timo Saanio and Jyrki Kein\u00e4nen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRecord-Breaking Construction<\/h2>\n
BIM for Design and Management<\/h2>\n
Making Information Flow<\/h2>\n
InfraBIM Open Tampere<\/h3>\n
![\"InfraBIM](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/infraBIMopen-tampere.png\")
To meet A-Insin\u00f6\u00f6rit in person and to learn more about the use of BIM in infrastruture construction, come to\u00a0InfraBIM Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n