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New 20kv loop system for northern Kenniskwartier

Kenniskwartier

In the Kenniskwartier (Innovation Quarter, sometimes referred to as Knowledge Quarter), the years ahead are set to see all kinds of things happening. Together with VU University and Amsterdam UMC, we are transforming this part of Zuidas into a mixture of housing, employment, education, healthcare, culture and hospitality/catering. To the north of Gustav Mahlerlaan, the main traffic artery dividing the area into north and south, construction work has already started on the eye-catching building The Pulse of Amsterdam. This multifunctional complex will soon be home to housing, offices and a cinema. Later this year, construction work also starts on Stepstone, a residential tower with apartments for first-timers.

Cable ducting

In order to be able to supply power to all of these buildings in the future, we are working with Liander to install a new main connection for electricity. We are doing this by installing a new cable into the existing underground cable ducting. Cable ducting is nothing more than an empty tube intended for cables and pipelines. The advantage of cable ducting is that new cables can easily be inserted, without the need to dig up the whole road. The cable ducting in this area runs from the transformer station behind The Edge, Deloitte’s headquarters, to the Hourglass next to Clara Schumannstraat. At that point, the cable ducting goes via gigantic connector blocks (‘coupling fields’) into the integrated cable and pipeline tunnel (‘integrale leidingentunnel’ or ILT), which runs to Beethovenstraat. It was from there that we installed the loop system under the future Maurice Ravellaan in 2021.

Transplanting trees

In order to enable connections to the electricity grid in the future, we are raising the height of the high-voltage cable in four places to the north of Gustav Mahlerlaan. To do this, we are digging a deep trench in these places before sawing open the cable ducting and lifting up the relevant cable. We will first need to transplant the trees in the places where we intend to dig. A total of 70 trees are involved, 11 of which will be relocated on the southern side of Gustav Mahlerlaan. The other trees will be repositioned on the northern side.

Plans and diversions

The transplanting of the trees is currently underway. When this has been completed, we will start digging the holes where the cable ducting is in late February or early March and install the loop system. This will take around a month. During the works, cyclists and pedestrians will be diverted via the southern side of Gustav Mahlerlaan. Once the loop system is in place, we will relandscape this area. This will involve inserting a bend in the existing footpath, so that it no longer runs directly alongside the Stepstone construction site.

Stepstone

In parallel with the installation of the 20kv loop system, we are preparing the construction plot for Stepstone. This is in order to reduce disruption to a minimum. In preparing the plot, we have dug up several amelanchier trees, which will be replanted elsewhere in the city. We will also need to remove a layer of gravel as there were previously tennis courts on this site. The first foundation pile is expected to be driven into the ground for Stepstone on 1 April 2022.

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