Bremerhaven is one of Europe's largest container ports. It is to be expanded and modernised in the coming years in order to remain among the big players such as Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg. Around a quarter of all containers handled in Bremerhaven are transported onwards by train. A new eight-hectare rail handling facility for combined transport at the Container Terminal Wilhelm Kaisen is set to increase handling capacity by around a third.
Focus on quality requirements and sustainability
The work commissioned to PORR Verkehrswegebau includes the removal of existing drainage and utility systems, the removal of around 38,000 m² of asphalt surfaces including the underlying hydraulically bound base layer and the removal of the existing drainage channels. This will be followed by the construction of the new drainage and supply systems, the construction of new slotted channels over a length of around 960 metres and the construction of around 40,000 m² of asphalt and gravel base course superstructure. For reasons of sustainability and health protection, the asphalt is being produced and laid at a lower temperature. This not only reduces the energy requirement, but also the development of vapours and aerosols.
"The requirements for the quality of the superstructure, such as the correct profile, evenness and void content of the asphalt layers, are extremely high," explains Ahmed Belkaied, Technical Managing Director of PORR Traffic Route Construction. This is why the PORR central laboratory in Münster is closely involved in the verification of material parameters.
