SOURCE: Written Group | July 29, 2026
Vögele’s SUPER 1803-5 X and SUPER 1303-3i wheeled pavers were selected for the Mont Blanc Tunnel renovation project requiring fast, precise resurfacing in confined, dark conditions.
The SUPER 1803-5 X offers high power with a laydown rate up to 700 t/h, and exceptional maneuverability via Pivot Steer steering, enabling seamless paving of both lanes in one pass.
Dash 5 technologies, including Paver Access Control and integrated LED lighting, improved operational efficiency and safety during night work inside the tunnel.
The EcoPlus low-emissions package and quieter extending screed reduced fuel consumption, emissions, and noise, critical for enclosed tunnel environments.
Coordinated material logistics and user-friendly screed features contributed to outstanding paving quality despite challenging temperature and timing constraints.
The SUPER 1803-5 X scores top marks with its Dash 5 technologies
It’s a mammoth project: current plans foresee the complete renovation and modernisation of the Mont Blanc Tunnel over its full length of almost 12 km by 2042. Two wheeled pavers from Vögele – a latest generation SUPER 1803-5 X and a SUPER 1303-3i – were chosen for the realisation of the project.
Around two million vehicles a year travel through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Since the 1960s, the tunnel has linked Chamonix in France to Courmayeur in Italy, making it one of the most important north-south corridors in the European road network. Over almost the next two decades, the infrastructure is to be modernised in stages and the safety technology will be brought up to date. However, since the tunnel is of the utmost importance for tourism on both the French and Italian sides of the Alps, it can be closed only for a few weeks – and countless nights – at a time
A lot to do, but only one night to do it
As part of this project, contractor Cogeis SpA was commissioned to carry out extensive resurfacing work on a 400 m section of the tunnel. This was a challenge, as tunnel sites mean confined spaces, darkness, restricted visibility, strict safety requirements and a tightly scheduled project timeline. The aim was to pave the entire section with a 5 cm surface course across a width of 6.5 m in the course of just one night. In cases like this, everything depends on efficient machine technology, so the contractor chose to use a latest-generation wheeled paver from Vögele, the SUPER 1803-5 X.
An extremely manoeuvrable and powerful paver
With a laydown rate of up to 700 t/h, this representative of the Universal Class is Vögele’s most powerful wheeled paver and can pave widths of up to 8.25 m. This enabled the paving crew to use the SUPER 1803-5 X for the seamless paving of both lanes in a single pass. Its particular agility also played an important role: its Pivot Steer steering brake reduces its turning circle to only 4.2 m, enabling it to manoeuvre with ease, even in the narrow tunnel. It was assisted here by its ‘little brother’, the SUPER 1303-3i. This Compact Class paver enabled the paving crew to pave a total of three emergency stopping and breakdown bays with a total length of 150 m and a width of 2.8 m parallel to the two-lane carriageway.
Start-up at the press of a button increases efficiency
The technologies of the new Dash 5 generation were particularly useful on this tunnel project, including, among other things, the new automatic and comfort functions of the SUPER 1803-5 X. The convenient Paver Access Control (PAC), for example, was a great help to the crew when starting up and shutting down the paver. The crew was able to use the control unit on the screed to control all initial steps from the ground just by pressing a series of buttons: turning on the lights and starting the engine, putting up the hardtop, lowering the screed and booting up the machine control system. It enabled the operators to switch on the integrated lighting in the dark tunnel and start preparing for work right away.
Integrated lighting saves both time and effort
The optional Light Package Plus on the Dash 5 paver was a great help in the Mont Blanc Tunnel in more ways than one. Apart from being easy to activate without any extra installation effort or setup time, the new lighting system also provided optimal illumination: The package contains additional integrated LED lights in the hardtop and in the cross-member of the control panel, illumination of the tow point rams, freely positionable headlights and a special hardtop extension with powerful LED floodlights. These evenly illuminate the working area to a width of up to 10 m and to a distance of up to 4 m behind the screed. ‘This enabled us to set up and prepare the paver quickly without the need for additional lighting and then work in ideal lighting conditions,’ says paver operator Lori Bibe.
Lower noise levels and reduced emissions
Another benefit in the Mont Blanc Tunnel: the SUPER 1803-5 X features a drive concept that significantly reduces fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise, the primary contributor here being the optimised EcoPlus low-emissions package. This reduces fuel consumption and, in combination with other measures, also leads to lower noise emissions. The latest-generation AB 500 TV extending screed is also quieter than its predecessors. ‘These factors are critical, especially when working in narrow, enclosed spaces like the construction site here in the tunnel,’ explains foreman Antonio Lachi. The new installation aid for attaching bolt-on screed extensions and the efficient heating of the compacting systems also minimise the set-up time. ‘The new extending screed is very user friendly and saved us a lot of time here,’ reports Lachi.
Successful stress test
Thanks to ideally coordinated material logistics, which assured an uninterrupted supply of material to the pavers and an optimum head of material in front of the screed, the paving crew was able to achieve outstanding paving quality. And this although the asphalt had been on the road for around two hours in wintry temperatures before it could be delivered to the pavers. The project in the Mont Blanc Tunnel once again shows just what the Dash 5 generation of pavers can achieve in day-to-day situations – namely more comfortable and simpler operating and greater paving efficiency
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