The expansion of national road No. 8 on the Ia section – Wyszków – “Poręba” junction will cost nearly PLN 335 million gross. Skanska will complete the thirteen-kilometer section, along with bridge infrastructure and accompanying facilities, using modern technologies such as BIM, 3D models, laser scanning, and drones.
On January 28, 2016, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) Białystok branch signed a contract with Skanska for the implementation of the investment. The work will last until July 2018. This is one of the largest infrastructure investments in the Masovian Voivodeship and the largest contract currently being carried out by Skanska.
The investment in numbers
The S8 is an S-class road with a design speed of 100 km/h and a load-bearing capacity of 115 kN/axle. The new section will have two carriageways, each 10.5 m wide, a 10 m wide median strip, and unpaved shoulders, each 1.25 m wide. The carriageways will have two lanes and one emergency lane each. To construct the surface, Skanska will use 75,298 cubic meters of cement concrete. Bridge works will consume 4,095,000 kg of reinforcing steel and 34,000 cubic meters of concrete. Along the road, the company will install 3,560 square meters of acoustic screens.
– As part of the road works, we will build a nearly 13-kilometer section of the S8 expressway, access roads, three road junctions: “Trzcianka”, “Knurowiec”, “Poręba” along with access and transverse roads, intersections, two vehicle inspection points, sidewalks, exits, bus bays, a surface and deep drainage system, and road culverts, including those serving as animal crossings – lists Wojciech Chojecki, construction manager at Skanska. – Furthermore, we will expand roads and rebuild communication routes intersecting with the new investment. The scope of work will also include land reclamation at the sites of demolished existing roads.
In addition to road construction, Skanska will also carry out bridge works and engineering structures. The S8 route on this section will have a total of 16 viaducts and bridges, 38 animal crossings, and 13 culverts.
Work organization
The work has been divided into two stages. The first stage of work involves building the new expressway carriageway on the right side – from the “Trzcianka” junction to the end of section Ia – along with access roads and engineering structures.
– During this stage, vehicle traffic will take place on the existing national road – announces Piotr Stępień, project manager at Skanska. – In the first stage, we will also build an access road from the beginning of the section to the junction
“Trzcianka” along with engineering structures.
The second stage will involve building two expressway carriageways from the beginning of the section to the “Trzcianka” junction.
– At this stage of work, vehicle traffic will be directed to the newly built access road – explains the project manager.
Subsequently, the existing national road carriageway structure will be demolished, and the left expressway carriageway will be built from the “Trzcianka” junction to the end of the section, along with engineering structures.
– During the construction of this section, car traffic will take place on the new right expressway carriageway – he continues.
BIM, 3D models, laser scanning, drone. During the project implementation, Skanska will use modern technologies available for construction.
– We will use 3D machine control systems equipped with numerical models of the project being implemented (this is a three-dimensional model placed in a spatial X, Y, Z coordinate system) – says Piotr Stępień. – The use of the latest geodetic instruments will allow us full compatibility of work with 3D models and 3D machines – we will use a drone for earthwork measurements to prepare periodic work balances, while laser scanning (including mobile) will be used for partial and final inventory of construction elements – explains the project manager. – We will use IPAD tablets with the PLANGRID program installed for mobile work with documents.
The use of BIM technology has an effective impact on resource utilization within the project, ensuring better preparation and coordination of work during the investment implementation.
Concrete surface of the S8 and “washbeton” technology
The structure of the S8 expressway will be made using rigid pavement technology made of cement concrete with a finish in the so-called “washbeton” technology. This type of solution works well on high-speed road surfaces, such as motorways and expressways, and is being used more and more widely.
– Well-executed cement concrete pavements are more durable than bituminous mixture pavements. They allow for better distribution of the load of vehicles moving on them, are more durable compared to asphalt pavements, and are cheaper to maintain and operate – comments Wojciech Chojecki from Skanska. – Furthermore, cement concrete pavements finished in “washbeton” technology are so-called “quiet pavements”. Vehicles moving on them generate a lower level of noise produced by the wheels.
One of the most important elements of building a concrete road is efficient and fast production and delivery to the installation site. For this purpose, near the construction site, Skanska will set up two concrete plants that will produce cement concrete exclusively for the needs of the construction. Several dozen transport units will be involved in transporting the concrete – specialized concrete mixers and trucks.
Skanska’s experience
Skanska carries out building and engineering contracts. It executes both large projects and smaller and medium-sized contracts in local markets. The company is developing its concrete competence and has experience in building roads with such a structure. In 2005, the company executed a cement concrete surface on a section of the DK18, and in 2012 on the S8 road section “Oleśnica (Cieśle junction) – Syców (Syców East)”. The construction of this S8 section was carried out by an international Skanska team.
– The cooperation of Skanska specialists from various business units, in this case from Poland and the Czech Republic, gave our client broader access to specialized knowledge and solutions – says Przemysław Janiszewski, member of the board of Skanska SK a.s. – The Czech side brought knowledge in the field of “washbeton” technology, the Polish side extremely valuable local knowledge. Once again, the power of synergy has proven itself.