Möll transfer duct
The narrow passage seems to be unending: It can be as much as 3 kilometres to the nearest exit.

Thousands of metres of rock

That’s what was above a Kremsmueller construction site in the heart of the Alps.

The Kaprun power plant uses the snowmelt water of the Großglockner Pasterzen glacier for generating power. Since the glacier strips off rock structures, over the years, tonnes of glacier abrasions have collected in the dammed lake. Kremsmueller planned a pipeline through which the sediment can be carried off again. In its final state, the steel pipe DN 200 will go through the 11.6 kilometre-long Möll-transfer duct. 
Anyone wanting to perform tasks at a height of 2,000 metres above sea level has to be really fit. But working in a duct also demands mental toughness. There is just one emergency exit leading into the open air, in the middle of the narrow, dark duct. There are many measures to ensure safety: Large blowers at the inlets take care of the inflow and outflow of air. The weather divide at the high ridges of the Alps have made it even more difficult. Föhn storms at 120 kmph and fickle high and low pressure areas are not a rarity here. Therefore, a measuring instrument for the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide is a constant companion of every fitter. If an alarm is sounded, emergency kits provide protection from poisonous gas, smoke and a shortage of oxygen. The men keep in touch with a safety lookout over a field telephone. Universal stretchers of the kind used in mountain rescue are kept constantly at the ready.
 
The glacier will determine when assembly will take place. The connecting pipes could only be installed in summer, when the Großglockner high alpine road was clear. The works in the Möll transfer duct will be finalised in 2011. Since April, the duct has again been flooded with snow melt water.
 
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For more information on pipeline assembly by Kremsmueller, click here.
Pipeline assembly
The fitters work in shifts. Whether it is day or night outside is quickly forgotten in the dark duct.
Inclined lift
The inclined lift reaches deep into the mountain.
Assembly in the duct
Kremsmueller installs a 11.6 kilometer long pipe for glacier abrasions in the duct.