All language subtitles for Building Giants Series 4 Part 3 Underground Mega Highway 1080p

Yep.
[ explosion ]

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden...

[ jackhammer hammering ]

...This elite team of engineers

Is embarking on
an epic endeavor.

[ shouts indistinctly ]

They're building one of the
most ambitious megaroads

In the world.

This gigantic new highway

Is made up of a 35-mile network

Of massive, underground
tunnels...

[ shouting
indistinctly ]

[ explosions ]

...And six huge, new bridges

Soaring nearly 2,000 feet

Across stockholm's busiest
highway and railway.

[ explosions ]

To build this colossus,

The team must battle
fractured rock...

[ machine whirring ]

...Dangerous explosives...

Okay, blasting.

[ explosions ]

Narrator:
...And punishing deadlines.

Yeah,
this is a ticking click.

Narrator: This monster
subterranean highway

Ranks among a league

Of ambitious, new
engineering wonders

That are bigger, faster, taller,

And more advanced than anything
ever constructed before.

This is the inside story

Of the extraordinary challenge
of building these giants.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪

Stockholm,
the capital of sweden,

Is a unique city.

Its eye-catching mix of
historic and modern buildings

Is constructed across
14 separate islands,

Connected by 57 bridges.

And spectacular nature reserves

Lie just a few miles
from the city center.

The city's complicated layout

Makes navigating it
a huge challenge

For the 2 million people
who live and work here.

The 350,000 cars and trucks
traveling daily through the city

Are channeled onto a single road

That passes
right through its center.

This creates gridlock with
massive rush-hour delays.

To overcome this problem,

City engineers are
gearing up to build

The biggest infrastructure
project sweden has ever seen.

A massive new megahighway

That will allow traffic to
circumnavigate the whole city.

Johan brantmark is
the project's director.

This megahighway will connect

The regions
north and south of stockholm

Via 13 miles of new road.

To preserve the
stunning scenery,

An astonishing
11 miles of the new road

Will be buried underground.

Twin tunnels, each 50 feet wide,

Allow for three lanes
of traffic each way

At depths of up to 260 feet,

Giant ventilation shafts
fitted with powerful fans

Supply fresh air and
remove traffic fumes.

250 jets suspended
above the roadway

Keep the air circulating.

Aboveground, a huge,
2,000-foot-long bridge

Will cross over
busy highways and railways

To ensure the smooth flow of
up to 140,000 vehicles per day.

Johan's team faces
the formidable challenge

Of digging these
massive tunnels.

Stockholm sits on some of
the hardest rock on the planet

And is crisscrossed
by deep water channels.

So johan's team devises
an ambitious plan.

To tackle this massive build,

Workers labor above- and
belowground simultaneously.

To excavate
the 35 miles of tunnel,

They'll use high explosives
to blast through

21 million tons
of super-hard granite.

But one section of
the tunnel passes through

An ancient geological
fault line,

Where the rock is
dangerously fragile.

So, here, engineers have to use
steel and concrete

To painstakingly reinforce
the surrounding rock.

[ tapping on rock ]

[ explosion ]

Aboveground, workers
must simultaneously

Construct 2 miles
of new highway

And overcome the toughest
challenge of the whole project:

Build a 650-foot-long span
of the massive road bridge

Across a busy railway
in just three weeks.

♪

Work on the build
begins in 2016.

Aboveground, workers
start construction

Of new road bridges
to the north.

♪

And belowground,

They start blasting the
new tunnels from the south.

[ explosion ]

♪

[ explosions ]

Project manager linus levinson
and his tunneling team

Painstakingly drill
hundreds of holes

Into the solid granite...

...And use high explosives

To blast away
20 feet of tunnel at a time.

[ shouts
indistinctly ]

[ explosions ]

It takes three years

To excavate nearly 3 miles
of brand-new tunnel

Through the ground.

The crew makes good progress

Until they run into this patch
of dangerously unstable rock

Caused by an ancient
geologic anomaly.

It sits right below the
230-foot-deep lake malaren.

This is a crucial moment
for the whole project.

The rock along most of
the route is solid granite,

But beneath lake malaren,

Right in the path of the tunnel,

Lies an ancient
geological fault line --

A huge crack of fractured rock
over 650 feet wide.

Geologists call
this the crush zone,

Where a mess of ruptured rock,
mixed with clay and sand,

Makes the ground
highly unstable.

Tunneling through this zone
is incredibly dangerous.

[ machinery tapping ]

If the team continues
to blast as normal...

[ warning siren wails ]

[ explosion ]

...They could cause
a collapse...

[ rock crumbling ]

...Or open fissures
to the lake above,

Flooding the entire tunnel.

[ water rushing ]

In order to continue blasting,

Linus needs to find a way

To get through
this deadly fault zone,

Because they only have one
chance to get it right.

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden...

[ explosion ]

...Engineers are building
one of the largest

Underground megaroads
in the world.

♪

But work has slowed to a crawl

As project manager
linus levinson

Figures out how to excavate

Through the shattered
and crushed remains

Of an ancient fault zone.

Traditional
drilling and blasting

Could bring the tunnel
down on top of them...

[ shouts indistinctly ]
...So they need to determine

How to support the tunnel roof
as they go.

To tunnel through
the dangerous crush zone,

The team must first
reinforce the fractured rock.

They drill 62 holes
into the rock above

And to the side of the tunnel,

And insert 6-inch-thick
hollow steel pipes.

[ drill whirring rhythmically ]

Next, they pump in
liquid cement,

Which flows out of small
perforations in the pipes

And into cracks
in the loose rock.

This forms a super strong
roof of reinforced concrete

That holds up
the loose rock above.

Next, the team carefully
blasts the tunnel face.

[ explosion ]

They must work cautiously,

Removing just 7 feet at a time.

[ explosion ]

Once they reach the end
of the reinforced rock,

They start again.

By repeating this process
over and over,

The team can slowly
tunnel through

Even the most
treacherous terrain.

♪

Over a grueling week,

The team painstakingly drives
the long steel pipes

Into the fragile rock

And fills them with
liquid concrete.

This new
concrete-and-steel shield

Should stop the rock
from collapsing

As the team
blasts out the tunnel.

It's finally time

To see if their hard work
is up to standard

By blowing it up.

To place the explosives,

The team needs the help
of a special machine.

♪

[ driller rig whirring ]

♪

This drilling rig is
a 35-ton monster machine.

[ drill tapping rock ]

It has three computer-guided
hydraulic arms

That drive hundreds of
holes into the rock face...

...Following
a programmed pattern

With millimeter precision.

The team loads each hole

With a precise amount
of explosive...

We go up there?

...And retreats to safety.

After weeks of work,

The moment of truth is here.

It all comes down to
one press of a button.

If the new concrete-and-steel
roof doesn't hold,

The face might give way and
collapse the entire tunnel.

Okay.

Okay, blasting.

[ explosions ]

♪

Linus won't know if
the tunnel is still standing

Until he can take a closer look.

♪

As the dust clears,
he can just make out the face.

The tunnel is intact,
and their plan has worked.

They've advanced the tunnel
another 7 feet

Through the crush zone.

They'll need to blast
more than 100 times

To get all the way through

The deadly zone
of fractured rock.

♪

18 miles to the north...

...The megahighway build crews

Are battling a very
different challenge.

Engineers need to construct
a series of bridges

To connect the new
underground tunnels

To stockholm's
existing road network.

For months, the team has built
section after section

Of solid concrete bridge deck...

...By spreading
tens of thousands of tons

Of steel and concrete

Into giant molds.

♪

Today, the team faces
their toughest task yet.

They must build a 650-foot
section of molded bridge

Over one of sweden's
busiest railways.

This will be a very intense
period of time for all of us.

Narrator: And they've only got
three weeks to do it.

Basically, this is
a ticking clock.

♪

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden...

Okay, blasting.

[ explosions ]

...Engineers constructing
a 13-mile-long megahighway

Face a daunting challenge --

Building a 650-foot
concrete bridge

Across one of sweden's
busiest railways

During the summer off-season.

They have just three weeks.

In charge of this mammoth task

Is engineer anna lempicka.

The hoses
are connected.

They're not bent.
I don't see any leakages.

Her team has
special permission

To shut down the railway
in order to build the bridge.

If they can't finish in time,

They won't get another shot
to complete the job

Until the following summer.

If we don't make it
in these three weeks,

We need to basically stop
the project for a year.

To help them
hit their deadline,

The team uses this giant,
movable concrete mold.

It will allow
workers to complete

This huge section of
the bridge in one go.

This is how it works.

First, workers detach
the 400-ton moveable mold

From the leading edge
of the bridge

And use hydraulic jacks
to push both sides out by 7 feet

Onto temporary support towers.

Next, they slowly slide both
sides of the mold forward,

Inching outwards into thin air,
a few feet at a time,

To reach a support tower,
400 feet away.

Once in position,

The hydraulics push both sides
of the mold together again.

Now the team fills it
with steel reinforcement

And super-strong concrete

To create
the next span of the bridge.

Once dry, the mold
can shift forward

To repeat the process,

Now safely clear of
the railway below.

♪

The countdown begins.

With the train tracks closed,

The team's first task

Is to lower
the railway power lines.

♪

They work through the night
to get the site ready.

♪

Now the race begins
to fire up the moving mold.

The object here is to
get this part of the mss

Exactly to the abutment part.

Touchdown will happen here.

Narrator: Hydraulic jacks
start to pull

The concrete mold
over the railway.

♪

These inch the mold forwards

Like a mechanical caterpillar,

Once half at a time,
little by little.

♪

♪

The team works seamlessly.

But a few feet
from touchdown...

Man: Stop, stop!

...They run into trouble.

The concrete mold can't
advance any further.

[ speaking
native language ]

Some of the steel beams
on the mold are too long

And block its path to touchdown.

Anna needs to come up
with a solution fast.

Do you remember
the drawings?

Man: Yes.

There is one
element doesn't fit,

And we need to cut either
from our side or from mss.

Narrator:
She makes the bold call

To slice off the excess steel.

And we would need
to organize them

Like a cutting machine.

With a tight schedule to keep,

This issue could cost
the team vital hours.

This will take
some time.

Workers cut 2 feet

From each of the
problematic beams.

It was going so good.
So good.

Well, we'll see.

♪

With the steel cut,

They try to move the mold
forward again.

♪

It works.

The concrete mold finally
gets to the other side.

Anna can breathe a
massive sigh of relief.

But the team still faces
a daunting challenge.

[ drills whirring ]

♪

They close up the
traveling concrete mold

To form the finished shape
of the bridge.

And the ironworkers

Lay 150 tons of steel
reinforcement by hand.

On this super-tight schedule,
the pace is relentless.

They have to work fast.

Narrator: The team works
flat-out for five days

And is still placing
the last few pieces of steel

As the concrete trucks
start to arrive.

It will take 50 of them
to fill the mold.

♪

♪

The bridge builders
need to pour

The whole bridge section
in one go

So it sets
in a single, solid slab.

So once we start,
we can't stop.

♪

The team works nonstop
through a punishing shift...

...To pump all 50 trucks of
concrete into the mold.

♪

They're on the homestretch.

But if the concrete
doesn't set fast enough,

The team won't be able
to remove the mold

And clear the site,

Bringing this
important train track

Screeching to a halt.

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden...

[ shouts
indistinctly ]

...Engineers are racing to build
a 13-mile long megahighway...

Okay, blasting.

[ explosions ]

...That travels through

Record-breaking
subterranean tunnels.

On the north side of the city,

Anna's team is
working to complete

A crucial part
of the highway --

A concrete bridge that
crosses over a busy railway.

They've had just
three weeks to do it,

And they're running out of time

Before the train track
needs to reopen.

We are almost at the end of
our track-closure period,

So we have three days left.

Narrator: They've got
one last vital task.

This bridge span is so long

That concrete alone won't
support the weight of traffic.

This 650-foot-long span
needs some extra support

To help it withstand
the wear and tear

Of 140,000 vehicles a day.

[ concrete cracking ]

Without reinforcement,

The flow of traffic over it
could cause it to sag and crack.

To overcome this,

Engineers must
bury plastic pipes

Inside each section
as they cast it

And run cables inside the pipes.

The team will use
a giant hydraulic jack

To stretch the cables tight
with 500 tons of pressure.

This technique locks the
concrete sections together,

Making the whole bridge
strong enough

To support heavy loads
for decades to come.

♪

The concrete has
finally hardened.

And after running 10 miles
of cable through the bridge,

It's time to tension them.

The team needs to work fast.

Lempicka: Guy is here
installing the jack

That is going to pull
the cables.

Workers attach the
massive hydraulic jack

To the exposed cables

And start to pull them tight.

It's hard work, yes,
but I make it every day.

The jack pulls
the steel cables

With an exact amount
of force,

Stretching them

And securing
the concrete sections together.

For the cable crews,
the pressure is on.

The railway beneath their feet
needs to reopen.

It takes 16 hours
of grueling work

To tension
all of the cables...

So, this side and the
other side is all finished.

Narrator: ...Locking
this section of the new bridge

Together
across the railway.

Stop, stop!

Finally, they move the
mold away from the tracks...

♪

...And clear the worksite.

They reopen the railway
just in time.

This is a huge moment
for anna and the team.

The hardest part of this
massive bridge is finished.

Lempicka: The post tensioning
was definitely a success.

Finally, it starts to
look like a bridge.

♪

♪

Narrator: With work
on the monster highways,

Bridges, and tunnels
progressing well,

Design begins on the next
phases of the project.

The team needs to construct
16 vast ventilation shafts

And 48 huge fans
to push fresh air

Through the highway's
35 miles of tunnels.

Safety specialist henrik modig

Oversees this stage
of the operation.

Narrator:
With so many vehicles

Traveling inside
this confined space,

Fumes from car exhaust
would quickly build up

To dangerous levels.

To supply fresh air
to the tunnels,

Henrik's team develops

A sophisticated
ventilation system.

250 jet fans

Blow more than 200,000
cubic feet of air per second

Along the tunnel.

The air picks up more and more
car fumes as it travels,

Until it reaches giant fans
stationed every 2 miles.

These blow the harmful fumes
through 26-foot-wide shafts,

Up and outside,
like a giant exhaust...

...And suck in clean air
from the surface

Back down to the tunnel.

This system will provide
plenty of clean air

To even the deepest sections
of the underground highway.

♪

The giant fans in the new
megahighway's tunnels

Will need deep vertical shafts

That run all the way
to the surface.

But digging the shafts

Through the hard rock
of stockholm's islands

Will be no simple task.

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden...

[ explosion ]

...Engineers are battling

To blast
a subterranean megahighway

Through 11 miles of super-hard
scandinavian rock.

To remove harmful exhaust fumes

From the thousands of vehicles
that will use these tunnels,

Huge fans will blow fresh air
along their length.

But to work,
they need gigantic shafts

Blasted all the way
to the surface.

This part of the build

Rests on the shoulders of
engineer charlotta somalias.

Today her team gears up

To blast part of a 130-foot
vertical ventilation shaft.

To create the huge
ventilation shafts,

Charlotta's team needs
to blast from both below

And above.

First, they drill upwards
into the tunnel's ceiling

And blast away 20 feet of rock.

[ explosion ]

Now the operation
switches to the surface.

[ drills whirring ]

Here, blasters drill
more than 100 small holes

Down to the tunnel below

And fill the bottom
with explosives.

They use a precisely
choreographed series of blasts

To detonate the explosives...
[ explosions ]

...Causing
the bottom layer of rock

To fall into the void below.

Then, they charge
the next section

And blast again.
[ explosions ]

The team blasts
the ventilation shaft

Slice by slice,
all the way up to the surface.

Working from the bottom up

Means they only need
to clear the debris

Once the shaft is complete.

The surface team
prepares the blast

Under the watchful eye of
demolition expert pier goliats.

Take them two-by-two.

Then we get through
our detonator

Like this.

He needs all of his
37 years of experience

To get the shaft through
this super-hard granite.

First, the crew drills
more than 100 holes

Deep into the ground.

They charge the drill holes
with dynamite...

...And prepare to detonate it
in a precise pattern.

But just as they
get ready to blast,

They run into a problem.

Every time they try to
place the explosives

In one of the holes,
they keep falling through.

Pier needs to take a closer look

With a special
fiber-optic camera

That he lowers down
into the ground.

It's vital that the team places
all the dynamite in solid rock.

But a large area is missing
where they expect to find it.

Man: Yes.

They need to determine
where the solid rock starts.

All of the explosives must be
placed at the same level,

So the team sets them
at this new height.

With the explosives in,

The countdown begins.

Belowground, charlotta gets
clear of the danger zone.

♪

[ alarm blaring ]

All of their hard work
comes down to one short blast.

Okay?

Yep.

[ explosions ]

[ horn honking ]

♪

♪

The team has done it.

♪

Further along the route
of this megahighway,

The tunneling team has reached
another critical moment.

After four years of work,
two long tunnel sections

Sit on either side
of a narrow wall of solid rock.

Now the crew is ready
to join them together.

[ drills whirring ]

It's called a breakthrough,

And this one won't be easy.

♪

Narrator:
In stockholm, sweden,

Engineers are racing
to build one of the largest

Underground highways
in the world.

[ explosions ]

Over four years, they've
been blasting two sections

Of road tunnel
toward each other.

[ machines whirring ]

Today, just a few feet
of solid granite

Separates these two passageways.

Now, demolition crews
need to blast away the rock

To connect
the two tunnels together.

[ laughs ]

Narrator: Demolition expert
bjorn andersson

Is in charge of
placing the explosives,

But it's not going to be easy.

There are large holes
in the rock,

So he can't blast it
in the traditional way.

The wall of rock
separating the two tunnels

That bjorn must demolish
is an unusual shape

And it already has
blast holes in it

From the tunneling
on either side.

To get through it,

They first drill
more than 100 channels

Into the existing rock face

And fill them with explosives.

To break through safely,

They must detonate
in a precise order.

First, they blast
a circular pattern

Around each existing hole...
[ explosions ]

...To clear the rock.

Seconds later, they detonate
the rest of the explosives

From top to bottom.

They must time each blast
perfectly,

Or the team will fail
to break through.

The drilling team
quickly prepares

More than 100 holes
for the blast.

Every hole must be
in a specific place

And to an exact depth.

Now bjorn places
the detonators.

Each has a precise delay,

So we must be sure to position
them in the right holes.

With the detonators in place,

Bjorn fills each hole with
a special liquid explosive.

By itself, the
liquid can't explode,

But when bjorn pumps the liquid
out of the tank,

He mixes it with a special gas

That makes it volatile
and ready to blow.

With the explosive
primed and ready,

Project manager linus
comes down to watch the blast...

From a safe distance.

This is the moment
four years of intense work

Has been leading up to.

♪

[ explosions ]

Linus steps out of the shelter
to take a closer look.

Peering through the dust...

...There's light at the
end of the tunnel.

The wall has gone,

And the blast
has been a success.

With this breakthrough,

This massive project is

A huge step closer
to completion.

♪

As the titanic tunnels

And vast bridges

Extend out across the city,

This revolutionary megahighway

Transforms stockholm's
traffic network...

Lempicka: The city needs it.

Everyone who's passing here

From the north to
the south of sweden

Or the south of europe,

They really need it.

Narrator: ...To keep
this unique city moving

As it grows into the future.

♪