Redevelopment of the Südschnellweg Hannover: Contract Awarded for New Tunnel
The motorway “Südschnellweg” running in the south of Hannover (Germany) will be modernised from 2023. In December 2022, the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport awarded the contract for the first major section of the Südschnellweg modernisation on federal road B 3 to a consortium of Porr, Stump-Franki Spezialtiefbau and Hagedorn. The contract is worth around 400 million euros. The project includes the construction of a new inner-city road tunnel. The construction time is expected to be about seven years; the federal government carries the costs.
Road Tunnel Replaces 69-Year-Old Bridge
The Südschnellweg with its two lanes in each direction was developed as from 1954. It includes the federal roads 3, 6 and 65 and is of great importance for traffic in the greater Hannover area as well as nationally. As an efficient and flood-free east-west tangent between the A2 and the A7, it guarantees connections to the higher-level motorway network and thus to the neighbouring metropolitan regions.
“As an arterial road, the Südschnellweg is of enormous importance for Hannover,” says Porr CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss. “It is used by tens of thousands of vehicles every day.”
As part of the Südschnellweg redevelopment in Hannover, the bridge over Hildesheimer Straße will be demolished and replaced by a 1100 m long tunnel
Credit/Quelle: NLStBV, Franz Bischof
An important part of this redevelopment is the replacement of a 69-year-old bridge, which is limited in its remaining usage, in some places significantly.
In the course of the redevelopment, the existing bridge over Hildesheimer Straße and Schützenallee in the Döhren district will be replaced by a tunnel. For this purpose, the consortium will first construct a 940 m long parallel temporary bridge and then demolish the existing structure. Afterwards, a 1100 m long road tunnel with ramp structures will be constructed to cross underneath the two roads. Then the temporary bridge will be dismantled again. A major advantage of the tunnel solution will be a considerable noise reduction for the local residents.
“With the award of the contract, the next step in this transport project, which is so important for Hannover, is being taken quickly”, said Eric Oehlmann, President of the State Road Authority. He emphasised that this award had no effect on the ongoing talks of the “Round Table Südschnellweg” with critics of the project. He said that the scope for deliberations would remain fully intact so that results could be taken into account appropriately. "This award of contract is a necessary step, but it does not prejudge anything. Together with Transport Minister Olaf Lies, we will continue to pursue the path of dialogue and transparency without jeopardising the timetable, especially with regard to the construction of the tunnel.
