News
Feb 19, 2010
OPAL: construction work on schedule despite snow and cold weather
Construction work through the Ore Mountains for the natural gas pipeline will start again at the beginning of March
Kassel. The constant frost over the last several weeks has advanced deep into the soil, while in the Ore Mountains the construction site for the OPAL (Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungs-Leitung – Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) has been submerged under a blanket of snow. “Naturally, we planned for a winter break, especially in the higher regions such as the Ore Mountains,” Michael Muth, Chief Construction Manager at WINGAS, explained. “But we hadn’t reckoned with such a prolonged period of frost and we had to take a longer break than planned.” In order to stay on schedule, however, construction work on the OPAL in northern Saxony has been stepped up in the meantime. The delivery of pipes to the site, the welding of pipes, the drilling of wells for water drainage and the preparation of pressing pits for jacking the pipeline under roads are all underway in northern Saxony.
The construction work for the OPAL on the 57 kilometers through the Ore Mountains has been taking place since late summer 2009. Overall around five kilometers of piping have already been laid in this section, near the municipality of Mulda, for example. On more than a third of the stretch, between Lichtenberg and the Freiberger Mulde, the pipes have been welded into a pipe string along the route. The pipeline route on the grounds of the wind farm near Pfaffroda was prepared before the winter break; the topsoil was removed and the ground surveyed for other pipelines. Further south, in Olbernhau, the River Flöha was crossed in December. “As soon as the temperatures rise again and the frost disappears from the ground we will step up our efforts in the Ore Mountains,” Mr Muth explained. “Construction work will continue from the beginning of March.”
In order to prevent local residents from being disrupted by the construction site as far as possible, the construction management at WINGAS is in regular contact with the road and municipal building authorities. For example, the jacking of pipes under roads is coordinated and synchronized with the building authorities’ other building measures. Temporary road blocks, such as on the S209 near Mulda, are announced in advance of the building work and alternative routes are signposted. “We take great efforts to keep the disruptions arising from the construction traffic and the delivery of pipes to a minimum,” Chief Construction Manager Muth explains.
On its way through Saxony the OPAL crosses the eastern part of the Ore Mountains, where around 400 workers are on duty. From Reinsberg south of Autobahn A4 the natural gas pipeline runs east of Freiberg towards Lichtenberg and Mulda stopping in Olbernhau at the compressor station. From here, the last section, which is still in the planning approval process, runs to the Czech Republic. The construction work and the recultivation of the ground are scheduled to be completed by summer 2011. The planned commissioning date for the OPAL is autumn 2011.
all news
