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Deutsche Bahn is planning to extend the line between Groningen (Netherlands) and Bremen. This approximately 173-kilometre-long line - also called the "Wunderline" - connects northern Germany with the north of the Netherlands, of which approximately 124 kilometres are on the German side. The planned extension of the line is intended to provide a faster and more comfortable connection between the two cities of Bremen and Groningen with a significant reduction in travel time.
Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Osnabrück site, has been awarded the contract for the soil engineering supervision (BBB) of the first construction stage. The first construction stage is divided into a total of three planning approval sections (see Figure 1) and includes the two routes 1575 and 2931 with a course from the Dutch border via the villages of Bunde and Weener to Ihrhove. The construction measures (incl. preparatory and follow-up work) of the first construction phase will be realised in the period from autumn 2023 until probably the end of 2024.
With the new ordinance, which comes into force on 01.08.2023, the competent authority can require the commissioning of soil monitoring in accordance with DIN 19639 in individual cases for projects in which materials are placed on or in the rootable soil layer over an area of more than 3,000 square metres, in accordance with § 4 of the BBodSchV. In this way, Deutsche Bahn AG is implementing the new legal framework conditions for soil protection for the "Wunderline" extension line.
The overall objective of soil monitoring is to sustainably safeguard the (natural) soil functions according to the Federal Soil Protection Ordinance (BBodSchV) or to restore them after the end of construction. To enable the construction companies to implement the soil protection measures on site, we as BBB prepare a construction site leaflet including instructions on the required soil protection measures. During the construction phase, regular site inspections are carried out. In the course of these inspections, a continuous check is made to see whether the soil protection goals are being achieved or whether further measures need to be verified. Following the construction work, the areas affected will be restored and recultivated in consultation with the soil monitoring team. In addition to the pedological monitoring during the construction phase, investigations are to be carried out at the beginning and after the construction measures to record the chemical and physical condition of the soil. In addition to the findings on the condition before and after the construction measures, the investigations also provide in-depth information on the soil structure in order to be able to further specify the soil protection measures if necessary.