A10 - Creeping Slope of the Reitdamm

In the course of the construction of the A10 Tauern Autobahn (end of the 1970s), a ditch in the Hüttau area, directly in the approach route of the newly built Reit Tunnel, was filled with the excavation material from the tunnel to allow the highway to pass over this ditch. Since the geology in this area contains a thick layer of lake clay, the filled ditch developed into a creeping slope, the so-called "Reitdamm“ (Reit embankment). Over the years, several renovation stages have been carried out, but the slope could not be brought to a standstill, and the direction towards Villach had to undergo regular maintenance.

Between 2015 and 2016, part of the embankment fill was removed and a slope bridge was built at this lower level (approx. 10 m below the carriageway) on the side of the Villach motorway overpass. The RFB Salzburg is held in place by a broken up and back-anchored bored pile wall. The newly constructed slope bridge is founded entirely in the bedrock (Werfen strata) using bored piles with a length of 14 to 52 metres. The bored piles are also anchored back into the mountain.

Kids

Animal search in the mine

Have you ever heard that there is a frog or a cat in a mine? Or have you heard of the pit shunt? The miners have developed their own language in their work in the mine and often use funny words for things they use to work in the mine.

The mine shunt is a vehicle on rails. The miners use the mine shunt to drive into the tunnel, i.e. into the mountain and out again at the end of the day. Heavy stones and tools can also be taken out of the mine with the mine hunt.

A frog is a lamp that used to be filled with animal fat so that it would burn for as long as possible. Imagine there's even a cat in the gallery, but it's not a small tiger, it's a tool that hangs from the ceiling and is used to transport things.

The language of the miners

As in many working groups, mining also has its own language with special terms that are spoken. Miners' language is one of the oldest specialised languages in existence.

The miners also took terms from everyday life and gave them a new meaning underground. Underground, for example, means under the ground or in the mountain. Animal names were also used to designate tools or things. The Grubenhunt is the wagon that takes the miners to their workplace in the tunnels.

A Forsch, for example, is a miner's lamp that was filled with animal fat. The weather describes the condition of the air in the mountain. "Good weather" means that there is enough air to breathe and there are no dangerous gases in the mountain. In "bad or even evil weather" it can be dangerous, there is a lack of air to breathe and there may even be explosive gases in the tunnel.

But there are also special words that you might not understand if you are not a miner. For example, the miner's tool is called a gezähe and the Geleucht is a lamp in the mine.

Weather, Cat, Hunt,...

Miners' language is one of the oldest technical languages in existence. The miners developed their own language for their work underground. They took terms from everyday life and gave them a new meaning. The miners' language has grown over time and many old terms are still used today.

For example, one speaks of weather underground, i.e. in the mountain. The weather provides information about the quality of the air in the tunnel. If the weather is "bad or even evil", you should not be in the tunnel, as there may be toxic gases in the tunnel or a lack of breathable air.

Animal terms were also used in the miners' language. For example, a cat is a special tool that is attached to the ceiling and can be used to transport goodness in the tunnel. A frog is a lamp that was filled with animal fat to keep it burning for as long as possible and a hunt is a means of transport on rails that takes the miners into the tunnel.