Works in Port of Gdańsk

The expansion and modernisation of the road and rail network in the External Port of Gdańsk is coming to an end. The asphalting of the last section of ul. Kontenerowa is being completed. The remaining insulation and additional protection on the PERN and Lotos fuel transfer pipes is still to be done. The investment, commissioned by the Port of Gdańsk Authority S.A., worth over PLN 176 million, is being carried out by NDI company from Sopot.

– We are glad that some of the works, especially those of the railway, have been completed before the planned date. Soon we will be able to announce the implementation of the whole task, which required a very reliable planning of technology and organization of work. We did not want the implementation of the investment to significantly affect the functioning of the port and companies operating in this area – says the president of NDI, Małgorzata Winiarek-Gajewska.

– The investment in the road and railway system in the External Port is one of the key projects in the package of huge investments carried out with the help of EU funding. As part of this task, we rebuild and build from scratch 7.2 km of roads with high load-bearing capacity parameters, 4 road viaducts and 3 casing culverts for fuel pipelines. In addition, we build about 10 km of railway tracks. These are both works consisting in the renovation of the existing infrastructure, as well as the construction of completely new sections of siding tracks for our Contractors. This investment will allow us to adjust the standard of access infrastructure to the growing needs of our Clients, who are the most important stakeholders for the Port. It is worth noting that the scale of this investment, combined with the parallel modernisation of the quays in the Inner Port, is comparable to the times of the construction of the North Port in the 1970s – says Lech Paszkowski – Director of the Development and Investment Department in the Port of Gdańsk.

The last asphalt parts are laid on the final section of the project, at ul. Kontenerowa. Also works related to the installation of protective barriers or lighting are being carried out. In addition, finishing works are under way, related to laying the pavements and laying humus on the slopes, i.e. covering them with fertile soil on which plants will be sown.

–Within a month we laid a 2.5-kilometre section of asphalt and 750 metres of concrete on the access roads of the WD4 overpass – says Łukasz Kotlenga, bridge works manager from NDI, the company that is implementing this investment.

And that means that soon the second roadway on ul. Kontenerowa will be put into service. It is worth reminding that the traffic leads there also through the WD4 viaduct, the construction of which was an interesting challenge. WD4 runs over the newly designed tracks of the railway network in the External Port and in direct proximity to the existing ul. Kontenerowa that had to remain in full use. Its span is 17.44 meters and its length is 41.10 meters. The overpass was designed as two single-span structures with a platform made of prefabricated T-type prestressed beams. For the construction, among others, 1,300 m3 of concrete and 210 tons of steel were used. The overpass was made of 24 mounted beams, 18 m long and weighing 12 tons each. The beams were positioned with a crane with a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes with an accuracy of 1 cm.

WD4, due to unfavourable ground conditions, was indirectly positioned on almost 20-metre-high poles topped with a cap. Its construction required the rebuilding of the existing underground armament networks and a temporary railway crossing through two designed tracks leading to the DCT terminal.

– However, the last engineering facility on 16 transmission fuel pipes PERN and Lotos remains to be built, as well as the road over this facility – explains Łukasz Kotlenga. – Our task is to insulate these pipes and provide additional protection in the form of bipartite steel casing pipes.

The vast majority of the planned work has already been completed. Among others, 10 kilometres of tracks and 16 crossings, 6 kilometres of roads, 4 road viaducts and 3 engineering structures on PERN and Lotos transmission pipes were constructed. The construction of the target railway system has also been completed.

– Currently, work is under way on the construction of a signal box according to a replacement design, enabling independent control of turnouts of two sidings. All road viaducts have been constructed and put into service – says Maciej Szymański, site manager from NDI.

As part of the investment, NDI has faced the reconstruction of streets: The company has also built four new viaducts, demolished two existing ones (including one over the active railway track and the other over the PERN, LOTOS and Naftoport fuel pipe transmission system). Moreover, an additional track for the DCT terminal had to be built, new tracks for coal terminals and a modern rail traffic control system. The project also assumes the creation of a buffer car park for trucks – the first in this part of the port.