Rio de Janeiro Line 4 is a subway line that is partly elevated and partly underground, with two segments. The line was planned to open for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

Dextra was involved between 2013 and 2015 in the design, engineering, and supply of four large FRP Soft-Eyes for station entry/exit points. These Soft-Eyes were the first ever delivered on the South American continent.

Prior to D-Wall construction, Dextra engineered the FRP cage design, taking into account the size of the TBM, margin for error, soil forces, and other design parameters.

Thanks to the properties of FRP material, Tunnel Boring Machines cut through the D-Wall in minimal time, saving time in the schedule and ensuring the perfect condition of the TBM’s head. The time factor is especially important in humid environments such as Rio to limit water entry into the station excavations.

On this project, Dextra also supplied Rolltec Rebar Couplers, used as vertical connectors in the station diaphragm walls to reconnect cages.

Couplers were also used horizontally to reconnect slabs at station level and at the surface in the D-Walls.