13 December 2016, 09:51
Germany has one of the longest highway networks in the world, coming in after China, the USA and Spain. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, it comprises almost 13,000 kilometers, and continues to be extended. The expansion and new construction of the German highway network is particularly important in view of eliminating traffic bottlenecks and opening up, or rather connecting, structurally weak regions – eventually, economic growth also means traffic and mobility growth. Several new road sections are currently under construction, including section 5.1 of the federal highway A 72 in the district of Leipzig, where BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH is also involved in a joint venture.
Traffic has been flowing on the A 72 from Vogtland in Bavaria, via Chemnitz, to Borna and then in four lanes all the way to Leipzig since August 2013. This is where the last missing construction section 5 begins, starting from Borna to connect with the A38 south of Leipzig. Section 5.1 from Borna to Roetha has been under construction since the middle of 2013. The earthworks and superstructure on the almost ten-kilometer-long section began in October 2015. In this area, the planned highway section first passes over a former mining area dating from the coal production era and later along opencast mine pit embankments, which is why the ground must be compacted and its load-bearing capacity improved. Bauer is constructing a total of around 226,000 meters of vibro stone columns with lengths of up to 15 meters for this. In addition, there will be around 28,000 meters of replacement borings with re-compaction using the deep vibration methos down to a depth of 26 meters. Up to four rotary drilling rigs from BAUER Maschinen GmbH will be used for this.
The new construction of the federal highway A 72 between Chemnitz and Leipzig, which totals 62 kilometers, is the last gap to close in the Saxony’s highway network and is pioneering for the entire central-German economic region.
Source: BAUER Aktiengesellschaft; Bauer Group