Budimex Completes Construction of Two S3 Sections in Zachodniopomorskie Province
On 27 April 2021, Budimex completed the construction of two sections of the S3 expressway: Brzozowo-Miękowo and Miękowo-Rzęśnica in the Zachodniopomorskie Province. The traffic between Miękowo and Rzęśnica has continued since June last year – the general contractor has just finalised the last finishing works designed to fully adapt this section to expressway parameters.
The S3 is one of the most crucial transportation routes in the Zachodniopomorskie Province. Over 40 kilometres of this two-lane expressway between Szczecin and Świnoujście will be available to drivers before the May Holiday. In charge of two S3 sections, Budimex is now commissioning over 22 km between Brzozowo and Miękowo and is completing the finishing works on the Miękowo-Rzęśnica S3 section that is already available to traffic.
‘We have extensive experience in carrying out road contracts in Poland as the general contractor. We are happy to be now commissioning more kilometres of the S3 expressway, which is strategic for both local and national traffic. The final route is planned to be 520 km long and to connect Świnoujście with the Czech border in Lubawka’ – Artur Popko, Vice-President of Budimex SA, Operations Director.
In the performance of the contract for the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Highways (GDDKiA), Budimex's first task was to build 22.14 km of S3 in the place of the road connecting Brzozowo and Miękowo, plus three road intersections: “Brzozowo,” “Przybiernów” and “Babigoszcz” and two Passenger Service Points: “Przybiernów” East and West. The general contractor was also in charge of building 14 engineering structures on the expressway and on the roads crossing the expressway, and crossing the roads serving the adjacent area, including four passages for animals and amphibians. Budimex was also tasked with altering the existing roads, ensuring the continuity of the existing DK3 national road and the roads serving the adjacent areas, as well as modifying the infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.
‘A major part of crucial works for this project took place in unpredictable conditions of the pandemic. We faced such challenges as the lockdown, staff absences and supply chain interruptions beyond our control. However, due to the incredible professionalism of everyone involved in the contract, we managed to complete the construction as scheduled, for which I would like to thank the whole team and our associates’ – Maciej Kańkowski, Budimex's Contract Director. The net value of the contract for the Brzozowo-Miękowo section is PLN 293.13 million.
Budimex also built the second section of the S3 road, between Miękowo and Rzęśnica, which is already used by drivers. Over the 14 months following the commencement of the works, i.e. 9 months before the scheduled deadline, the general contractor built 4 km of the main route in an expressway standard, two road intersections (Kliniska and Rzęśnica), provided full drainage for the designed road system along with reservoirs, installed lights on the intersections, and delivered horizontal and vertical road signs with road traffic safety elements. The company also built three bridges, including two road viaducts within the intersection of Kliniska (WD3) and Rzęśnica (WD5) and a bridge over the Ina river on the S3 road (ME29). In recent weeks, it has focused on the finishing works at this section of the S3, which have just been fully completed.
While building the Miękowo-Rzęśnica section, we used about 90,000 tonnes of bituminous layers, about 76,000 tonnes of a mixture of aggregates for the superstructure and we made over 294,000 m3 of embankment. We also used equipment with 3D positioning systems to facilitate the works at the construction site. One of the major challenges for this S3 section was that the works were carried out in stages on an active expressway, and the contract required us to leave two roadways with two lanes each available to the drivers during the summer holidays - Robert Jastrzębski, Budimex’s Contract Director. The net value of the contract for the Miękowo-Rzęśnica section was PLN 102.66 million.
The S3 in the Zachodniopomorskie Province is the next infrastructural project in the Budimex portfolio. The general contractor is also responsible for building the A1 section between Tuszyn and Piotrków, the S61 expressway (the section between Suwałki and Budzisko with Szypliszki bypass, the section between Stawiski and Szczuczyn and the section between Wysokie and Raczki), and expressway S19 on the section between the Białystok Zachód junction (without the junction) and the Białystok Księżyno junction (with the junction), and the section between the Kamień junction and the Sokołów Małopolski Północ junction.