The Province of Friesland has granted Heijmans final contract award for the realization of the 'Below-grade Drachtsterweg including Aqueduct' in Leeuwarden, the eastern access road from the N31 provincial road. The contract value amounts to over 30 million. This is a Design & Construct contract in which an excellent design and a well-thought out implementation method resulted in the award of the contract to Heijmans.
The project largely comprises the below-grade construction of the Drachtsterweg road from the south side of the Drachtsterplein plaza to the Wiarda boat route, the construction of an aqueduct across the Van Harinxmakanaal canal and the construction of the Zuiderburen district fly-over crossings.
In addition to the design and construction of the road with viaducts and the aqueduct, Heijmans is also looking after the demolition of the bridge, the construction of the boat route, the bicycle paths and the bicycle bridge, all lighting and installations, landscaping and surrounding infrastructure in this area.
The project provides due consideration to optimally integrating the structures into their surroundings and maintaining the traffic capacity and flows of the existing road during construction. Various Heijmans Roads and Heijmans Civil Engineering business units are involved in this integral contract. Work planning will commence immediately and construction will take place in 2014 and 2015.
The below-grade Drachtsterweg including the aqueduct is part of the Free-Lane Program designed to improve Leeuwarden's accessibility by constructing various approach roads and by implementing drastic reconstructions of the current infrastructure.
The municipality of Leeuwarden is the future road manager and owner of the Drachtsterweg, while the Province of Friesland will become the owner and manager of the aqueduct. The new Drachtsterweg will make an important contribution to providing access to the city of Leeuwarden for road traffic to the N31 provincial road, as well as for shipping traffic.
Source: Heijmans
