The contract for client Deges involves the widening of the A7 highway with construction of a noise protection tunnel that also incorporates the access and exit roads.
The project has a total value of about €580m (£510m). Hochtief will take on the technical lead and has a 65% share in the joint venture, with Implenia taking the commercial lead.
The work, which will take place between the A7’s Othmarschen and Volkspark junctions, is expected to start in April and be completed by 2028. The Altona tunnel is the longest of the three ‘Hamburg lids’ constructed by Hochtief in the city to reduce local residents’ noise exposure.
The expansion of the motorway to eight lanes between the two junctions will close the gap between current A7 projects north and south of the Elbtunnel. The top of the Altona noise protection tunnel will be covered with allotments, greenery and parks, which will also serve to reconnect the two neighbouring districts of Othmarschen and Bahrenfeld.
Christian Späth, head of the civil engineering division at Implenia: “We were able to identify numerous optimisation opportunities during the tendering process, which began in November 2019. This allowed us, among other things, to bring forward parts of the detailed design work and systematically incorporate the results of more than 30 coordination meetings into the project calculations. This meant we could significantly reduce the project risks for everyone involved and create a good basis for working together for the next eight years until the project reaches a successful conclusion.”
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