Work progressed quickly and easily in the construction trench.
Categorie: References
Time was pressing at the time of the renovation of a section of the Wolfsburg district heating network. The work had to be completed in time for the start of the 2023/2024 heating season. In order to lay the plastic-coated pipe pairs quickly and, above all, safely along the approximately 1.1-kilometer length of the busy Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße, the easy-to-install E+S LBR lightweight shoring system from terra infrastructure was used in the pipe trenches.
Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße is one of the busiest roads in Wolfsburg. In the course of the project, the primary goal was therefore to keep the disruption to road users to a minimum. Another challenge was that only six months were allocated for the work. The fact that the construction work was completed on schedule in October 2023 was due in no small part to the rapid setup of the construction site. A consortium comprising Pfaffinger Industrie- und Energietechnik GmbH, Leipzig, and STRABAG AG, Braunschweig division, was responsible for the project. The contractors opted for products from terra infrastructure GmbH to secure the pipe trenches. In addition to around 75 tons of steel sheets, a total of 163 rented units of the E+S LBR lightweight shoring system were used in the individual construction phases.
The LBR box not only proved to be a time-saving solution. A major advantage of the LBR lightweight shoring box is that it also provides a safe and economical solution for demanding construction projects, such as those involving very large and wide excavation pits. The combination of base and top plates allows trenches up to 3.50 meters deep to be secured, with the top plates making installation quick and easy. “Using the lightweight shoring box was a good decision. Despite the quick installation, the solution is safe and stable. The linkage using stanchions and bolts prevents installation errors,” emphasizes Riccardo Kohlhaas, site manager at STRABAG AG, Lower Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt division, Braunschweig area.
The strong E+S strut systems, which can cover large widths and are compatible with each other, are perfectly matched to this. The pipe routes in Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße have a width of up to two meters with the supply and return lines. Dipl.-Ing. Robert Haupt, regional manager at terra infrastructure GmbH for the northern region, emphasizes the importance of the LBR box for the project in Wolfsburg: “It is the smallest and lightest shoring box in the E+S range and is therefore ideal for use on Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße, one of the main traffic arteries in Wolfsburg. Thanks to its easy handling and the availability of boxes in different sizes to suit the respective construction situation, installation progressed quickly.”
By performing an interchange / change of the old district heating pipes with better insulated plastic-coated pipes, VW Kraftwerk GmbH aims to save around 700 megawatt hours (MWh) of heat energy per year (based on a pipe length of approx. 1 kilometer). By providing the steel sheets and LBR boxes, which essentially form the frame for the installation, terra infrastructure is also helping to ensure the supply of heat and drinking water for many residents of Wolfsburg. At the same time, it has also helped to sustainably lower the associated CO2 emissions through a reduction in heat losses.