The route of the new Snam Rete Gas Biccari – Campochiaro natural gas transport pipeline mainly crosses hill and mountain areas, with some local unstable areas, such as landslides and pronounced detached surfaces. The route was designed to cross a slope in a wide geologically unstable area, where trench laying was not possible.
The execution of the microtunnel presented multiple technical and operational difficulties mainly due to its long length of approximately 1.100 m, a high gradient between the launching shaft and the exist shaft (equal to 120 m) and the presence of very heterogeneous soils (hard clay and limestone rocky layers). Last but not least, to treat spoils centrifuges and filter press units were required.