W+B wins tender for SCB on construction of new N69 link

Our assignment is to provide full systems-oriented contract management services, including risk management, in line with the best-value approach of this DBM contract. That means assigning employees from at least fourteen different disciplines – primarily from the Breda office – to work on the project from October 2018 to the end of December 2021.

The project involves constructing a new motorway connection with minimal impact on the landscape and surrounding nature, with the client’s ambition being to promote the link as ‘the most sustainable and greenest road in Brabant’. In keeping with the Province’s ‘Safe, Smart, Sustainable’ policy, additional efforts are being made in the interest of sustainability. These include:

• increasing the sustainability of the three required pedestrian bridges and ensuring they become iconic in the region;
• adding eleven iconic elements to the regional landscape which include an artistic and narrative message but, above all, provide recreational value. Examples include vantage points, seating areas, meeting places, steps, and plateaus. The icons will be made of biobased materials and recycled wood (from trees felled for the link’s construction);
• developing at least five innovations related to the circular economy;
• incorporating solar panels into the infrastructure. This will generate 30,000 kWh of green energy per year, 5,260 kWh more than the annual consumption (24,740 kWh) of all road-related systems.

The contractor’s scope covers the design, construction and partial maintenance for a number of years of a new road link between Locht and Luikerweg (N69). Broadly speaking, this will involve:

• preparing an integrated design (from preliminary to works execution phases);
• constructing a new linking road approximately 8.5km long and connecting it to the existing road network;
• adapting the existing N397 and Luikerweg roads;
• reconstructing the existing N69 between the junction with the planned link and the Belgian border (approximately 7km);
• modifying the intersecting residential access roads to reroute them either over or under the new link;
• constructing thirteen civil engineering structures in connection with the intersecting access roads, the N397, the junction with Luikerweg, and a partially sunken N69 foundation near Broekhovenseweg and Molenstraat;
• adapting the water resource management system, which involves accounting for a geohydrological fault line.

For this project, the client conducted a tender process in accordance with the European public procurement procedure based on best value procurement. This approach is designed to minimise risks while maximising opportunities during the tender process and performance during the assignment. It is also being applied during the works execution phase. Whereas much has been written about best value procurement, this is not he case for best value during works execution. For W+B, it represents a great opportunity to gain experience and expand the potential of our consultancy services.

W+B is committed to innovation and SCB is no exception. For this project, we are achieving this with the help of ProDocs. ProDocs is software that prioritises version management, classification, accessibility and verification of documents. It automatically stores files in a categorised and searchable manner. We are currently using ProDocs for:

• document management – our W+B server is linked to the ProDocs server and is synchronised daily;
• ProSearch, based on the Google engine, which allows you to search all folders, files and document content. This represents significant time saving compared to the current File Explorer structure we are used to;
• geographical linking of all documents based on geocode, N or A roads, hectometre markers, address data, GPS data, and objects;
• Docs2Go – all documents can be accessed in real time via the app.

We are also continuing to develop ProDocs so that:

• the contractor’s documents can be checked by the software package (which will save time);
• photos and notes can be automatically processed into a report and geographically linked using a tablet.

On 19 December 2018, the Province of North Brabant and Boskalis signed a contract for the construction of the new N69 link. The road will be completed by the end of 2021. The new connection is part of a broader regional assignment – ‘Grenscorridor N69’ – and, in conjunction with zero-plus measures and area impulse projects, will eliminate problems caused by heavy traffic on the N69, especially in the village centres of Waalre and Valkenswaard.

More information about the project can be found on the Grenscorridor N69 website.