Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/479227
T he two guards in front of the truck have lied their stop signs. ree cars and four cyclists stop and Johnny Olsen gets the go-ahead to drive. e truck slowly rolls down the road and into the construction site. With an experienced hand, Johnny swings his truck to the right and drives up to the automated wheel wash. "Every time we drive in and out of the area, we wash the tires. ere would be far too much clay in town otherwise," says Johnny as he backs into position so that the granite can start filling the twin dump trailers. e construction site is called Trianglen and is located in Copenhagen's inner city. It will be one of 17 stations on the city's new metro – known as the Cityringen. e building project, which is the largest in Copenhagen in modern times, consists of two tunnels, each 9.6 miles long and another four construction sites from where the tunnel-boring machines drill their way under the city. e new subway is an extension of the already existing one. Johnny's task is to carry away the earth that is dug up from underground at the construction sites. When the project is finished, more than 3 million tons of earth will have been transported away from the city's interior. "Right now it's probably a bit problematic for those living in Copenhagen. ere is construction taking place in so many different locations. Yet in the end I think it will be fine," says Johnny, who notes that if more people take the subway in the future then there will be fewer cars on the city's streets. Via the communication radio, Johnny has direct contact with the excavator operator. Huge amounts of earth are collected from a depth of 59 feet by a larger excavator. When the station at Trianglen is completed, its lowest point will be around 131 feet below street level. Johnny keeps tabs on the display in the cab that shows how much soil has been loaded. e truck has a load capacity of 19 tons and the trailer takes 20 tons. e empty tractor-trailer weighs about 23 tons. DRIVER REPORT The front steering axles in combination with the trailer make the tractor- trailer very smooth to drive, according to driver Johnny Olsen. The truck is a 2014 Volvo FMX with an 8×4 configuration and dual front axles. 16 D R I V E R ' S D I G ES T #1/2015