With the start of the project "Expansion of A 7" between Hamburg and the Bordesholm highway junction north of Neumünster on September 1, the first preparatory construction measures are also moving closer. Federal Transport Minister Dobrindt, Schleswig-Holstein Transport Minister Meyer, Hamburg‘s Transport Senator Horch and HOCHTIEF board member Graf von Matuschka jointly explained preparations for the start of construction and presented the A 7 expansion phases. Initial preparatory measures for construction are scheduled to commence in 2014. At the beginning of 2015, work will start to widen today‘s most important road link to Schleswig-Holstein and Scandinavia. The public private partnership project is being implemented by the Via Solutions Nord consortium, consisting of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions, KEMNA BAU, and institutional investor Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF).
After completion of the highway at the end of 2018, the stretch of road will once again be appropriate for the continuously increasing traffic volume. The 65 kilometer long section of A 7 between the Hamburg-Nordwest and the Bordesholm highway junctions will get a total of six traffic lanes, south of the Hamburg-Nordwest junction eight traffic lanes.
All lanes will remain open during construction.
While the construction work is going on, the existing number of traffic lanes will be maintained, in order to minimize the negative impact on the flow of traffic. This objective is also served by the specified lane width, which in Schleswig-Holstein is at least 2.85 meters on the left lane and at least 3.25 meters on the right, in the Hamburg area almost continuously 3.25 meters also on the left lane. The entire stretch of road is divided into eight construction site areas, so that a longer "recovery stretch of the road" is always available to road users after a construction site area. Only this division of the entire construction site allows for the previously unattained short construction period for such an extensive infrastructure project.
"Public private partnerships in transportation infrastructure permit efficient performance, short construction times, as well as high economic efficiency and durable quality of the project," said Nikolaus Graf von Matuschka, Member of the Executive Board of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft. "As seen here in the case of A 7, they also promote and strengthen small and medium-sized companies and nowadays are a tried and tested method for implementing modern roads and highways. Therefore, we emphatically welcome Mr. Dobrindt‘s announcement of a third series of PPP transportation infrastructure projects," von Matuschka added.
In addition to the widening of the highway, a total of 76 bridges will be newly built or reconstructed along the stretch of road. What is of particular importance for the people of Hamburg: In the Schnelsen section, the Schnelsen highway cover will be created over A 7. With this, the city district, which had been "cut up" since the construction of A 7 at the beginning of the 1970s, will reobtain its natural connection. In addition, a new agency in charge of highway maintenance will be established in the municipality of Nützen at the Kaltenkirchen junction, which at the same time will serve as the operating company‘s headquarters.
Via Solutions Nord is already in the midst of detailed planning for the preparation of the construction sites for the Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein areas. In the coming weeks, the construction experts will draft the time schedules for dividing the entire construction stretch, determine the precise amount of construction materials, and prepare for their delivery. They will also schedule the planning of the traffic flow in close collaboration with the transport authorities. The remaining preparatory work, for instance on embankments and medians, will take place in December. At that time, there will also be the first roadway bends, which nevertheless offer enough space for sufficiently large roadway widths, which as a rule will permit a maximum speed of 80 km/h.
The road section will be operated by Via Solutions Nord for 30 years.
To implement this complex project, which is subject to an ambitious time schedule, a consortium has been formed as Via Solutions Nord, consisting of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions, the large medium-sized construction company KEMNA BAU from Pinneberg, and the Dutch financing company Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF). Via Solutions Nord will thus provide not only the lion‘s share of the construction work, but will also ensure the financing of the entire project and invest a total of some EUR 600 million.
In accordance with the "A7 availability model", the consortium will also operate and maintain a 59-kilometer long section for 30 years after completion of the 65-kilometer long total stretch of road. A section of about 6 kilometers between Bordesholm and Neumünster will be transferred to the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The amount of the consortium‘s remuneration for construction and operation of the highway is based on the extent and quality of the availability of the section for road users. This means: When meeting the precisely defined requirements, the contractor will receive the agreed remuneration in full. In the event of non-fulfillment, a deduction will be made.