Bauer executes piling works for bypass road in Münster

Münster, Germany – To reduce the impact on residents, the existing B51 federal highway is being expanded and widened to four traffic lanes for the bypass in the south-east of the German city of Münster. With the subsequent new construction of the B481 federal highway, a direct connection to the north with the A1 freeway at the Greven junction will be established. BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH was tasked by the State Roadworks Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, Münsterland Regional Branch, with construction of an impermeable retaining structure with secant pile walls. In the protection of this excavation pit enclosure, a trough structure with attached noise control walls for the lowering of the B51 in Münster-Mauritz will be constructed later. Bauer Spezialtiefbau is also responsible for coordinating the concurrent road construction, the demolition of a bike path bridge and sewer construction work.

Bauer is constructing a total of approximately 20,000 m² of secant pile wall with five different drilling diameters between 620 mm and 1,200 mm. In addition, 4,000 m of tension release drilling will be executed with a diameter of 300 mm. The scope of service also includes the delivery and installation of two auxiliary bridges for sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

"The construction site is 900 m long and the work fronts are only 10 to 12 m wide. They are also located on both sides of the busy B51 federal highway," says Project Manager Ralf Meyer. "In addition, the distance to the adjacent properties is less than one meter in some places." The external conditions as well as the short construction time make the project a special challenge for all involved.

The drilling work is generally executed using four BAUER BG 28 drilling rigs. Due to the short construction time, a fifth drilling rig is also being used at times. The work began in September 2021 and is expected to be completed by Bauer in autumn 2022.