Norway’s road authority Nye Veier has chosen the joint venture BERINOR, which includes BESIX and Rizzani de Eccher, to design the E6 Moelv-Roterud infrastructure project.
The project includes a 1km main bridge over Lake Mjøsa and an 11km section of a four-lane motorway. The bridge will be the world’s longest structural timber crossing and set a benchmark for the use of sustainable materials in major infrastructure projects, according to a statement from BESIX.
“Sustainability aspects, including limited greenhouse gas emissions and quality landscape integration, are among the primary objectives of Nye Veier and BERINOR,” noted a joint statement. BESIX and Rizzani de Eccher are associated with the Norwegian contractor AF Gruppen, the designer and consultant Multiconsult and architect Knut Selberg.
Nic De Roeck, area manager of BESIX in Europe, said the bridge “will be remarkable and unique, especially from a technical and environmental point of view”.
BESIX and Rizzani de Eccher have cooperated on other major European contracts, including the Crown Princess Mary Bridge (Kronprinsesse Marys Bro) in Denmark. The Kronprinsesse Marys Bro project included an 8.2km four-lane motorway and a 1.4km bridge over the Roskilde fjord. It was finished in September last year, several months ahead of schedule.
The bridge was the first cantilever bridge built in Denmark since 1970. Both the motorway and the bridge crossed an EU Natura 2000 area which meant that design and construction were subject to strict environmental European Union requirements.
The Kronprinsesse Marys Bro was the subject of a World Highways Key Project Report, published in the January 2020 issue.
Other bridges built by BESIX include the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, the Shindagha Bridge in Dubai and the Theemswegtracé viaduct in Rotterdam.
