![230207 hoofdbeeld Britten A [marcel steinbach]](https://zuidas.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/230207-hoofdbeeld-Britten-A-marcel-steinbach-1800x1201.jpg)
Where in Zuidas
Watched by dozens of enthusiastic spectators, we recently moved the fourth roof section, weighing 3 million kg, several metres closer to the A10. This freed up the pre-construction platform on our work site next to Arnold Schönberglaan for work to start on the fifth roof section. When it has been completed, there will be two huge sheets of concrete next to the A10. During the summer, we will be moving these underneath the railway tracks and the A10 Zuid. To do that, we will be closing the A10 Zuid to traffic for an eight-day period starting on 5 August. That means, by later this year, six of the seven roof sections for the new Brittenpassage will be in place and we can start work digging the passenger tunnel.
Formwork
This month will see the Nieuw-Zuid construction consortium begin work on the formwork (a massive wooden mould in which the concrete will be poured) and preparing the steel reinforcement for the fifth roof section. This is something we have done several times already, and it is now even possible to view construction work on the pre-construction platform on our webcam. When the formwork is complete, it will be time to pour the concrete.
Extra piles and entrances needed
Even though the last roof section was already huge, this fifth section consists of two sheets linked together with a combined width of 18.5 m: around 4 m wider than the last one. This is why we inserted four additional foundation piles into the ground last November. It was also necessary to create two additional access routes to our worksite alongside Arnold Schönberglaan. This is because we reinforced the ‘slide’ between the pre-construction platform and the roof section next to the A10, as a result of which, we are no longer able to transport construction materials from one side of the site to the other.
Meandering A10
In August, the fifth roof section will be positioned under the southernmost railway track (track 1) and the A10. We are also seizing this opportunity to widen the associated railway platform, just as we did previously for the other railway platform. This widening is necessary in order to continue to offer comfort and safety to the increasing numbers of passengers at Amsterdam Zuid station (from 80,000 per day now to 250,000 by 2030) in the future. In order to make room to widen the platform, the A10 in the direction of Groningen/Hengelo/Utrecht needs to be moved slightly, approximately between Parnassusweg and Beethovenstraat. Next to Parnassusweg, the road will ‘meander’ slightly to the right and the maximum speed will be reduced to 90 km/h from that point. Next to Beethovenstraat, the A10 will then resume its existing route, where a speed of 100 km/h will again be possible.
Brittenpassage roof
The roof on top of the Brittenpassage consists of seven sections of different sizes. In November 2019, we inserted the first roof section into position and in August 2021, it was time for the two roof sections underneath the adjacent railway and metro track. In August 2023, we will be moving the next two roof sections into position above what will ultimately be the Brittenpassage. This work was originally planned for Ascension weekend in May, but has been rescheduled for the summer when there is less traffic in order to provide more time for this major job. The roof section currently alongside the A10 will be underneath the existing railway track (see the map below: T1) and one of the two future railway tracks (T6). After the fifth roof section has subsequently been inserted underneath the future railway track (T5) and the A10, we will start digging the Brittenpassage.
In the spring of 2023, we will be building the sixth roof section in situ under the metro tracks M3 and M4. Finally, we will begin work on the most northerly roof section that will go underneath metric track M2. But that will not happen until 2024.
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