Design and Construction of Railway Snowfall Protection Structure on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Corridor

Railway infrastructure is a vital transportation asset for many countries around the world and different geographic location may impose different challenges for train line operators. An example in Georgia is a snowfall related train line blockage during winter periods interrupting Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway corridor. In 2011 ViaCon Georgia was appointed for construction of snowfall protection structure with the total length of 2.434km. The snowfall protection structure was a steel tunnel lining comprising Multi-plate 200mmx5mm corrugated steel plates. This article describes ViaCon Georgia involvement in this project starting from contribution to scheme design development to complete construction of the snowfall protection structure. At the time of construction this structure was known as the longest structure in the world of such type. Authors of this paper envisage sharing their experience from this project thereby contributing ongoing developments of steel culvert design and construction.