Earlier this week the GelreGroen consortium signed the A12/A15 motorway (ViA15) contract with Rijkswaterstaat, the operational arm of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management.

In the vicinity of Arnhem the GelreGroen consortium will extend the A15 for a further 12 kilometres and widen stretches over 23 kilometres of the A12 and A15 by adding extra lanes. Apart from design and construction, the contract also includes finance as well as operation and maintenance of the motorway until 2044. The work is scheduled to start by the end of 2020. The new section of the A15 and the extra lanes on the A12/A15 will open by the end of 2024.

The A12/15 project will improve the traffic on the important corridor between the harbour of Rotterdam and Germany. At the same time it increases traffic safety and improves the regional quality of life. In the course of the construction works, 45 bridges, ten road junctions and additional noise barriers are to be built. The centrepiece of the new road axis will be the new bridge over the Pannerdensch Canal, with a length of approximately 2.5 kilometres.

The GelreGroen consortium, consists of HOCHTIEF (40%), John Laing (40%), Dura Vermeer (10%) and BESIX (10%). The project design, construction and maintenance works will be executed by a consortium, consisting of HOCHTIEF (25%), Dura Vermeer (25%), BESIX (25%) and Van Oord (25%).

Sustainability is one of the focus points of the project and plays a major role in the design and construction as well as in the operations of the motorway. The name ‘GelreGroen’ refers to a ‘nature inclusive design, where ‘Groen (green) stands for sustainability and environmental protection. This is for example reflected in an efficient use and reuse of materials and construction methods.