Digging safely in the A10 embankment and the track

The fact that we have a lot of experience in digging this area on the south side of the station next to Benjamin Brittenstraat is a major advantage. For example, we already conducted a soil survey during the summer of 2022 during the 11-day closure in August of that year. The knowledge acquired then is proving useful this year as we have closed A10 Zuid for an eight-day period in order to insert two huge concrete roof sections into position above the future Brittenpassage.

12,000 cubic metres of soil

The railway track and motorway in Zuidas were built on an embankment partly made up of rubble. It is in this embankment that we will be building the future Brittenpassage. For that purpose, we dug up a section of the A10 Zuid covering 40 x 80 m in the weekend of 5/6 August 2023 – a total of 12,000 cubic metres of soil. We know from research and experience that we are mainly working in a clean layer of sand and that there may be some contamination in the deeper layers of the embankment. We have taken measures to make it possible to work safely and ensure that any contamination encountered can be disposed of properly.

Inspection and workwear

As we often do, we carry out a check in advance to ensure that our colleagues can work safely. There is also a focus on workwear: with special overalls, gloves, boots and a boot bath. Careful followers of our webcam will also notice a difference in workwear. This because of the nature of the work – a welder has to wear a special welding jacket and mask – and the ground in which we are working. The safety regime will not be needed for as long as it was during the works in August last year: the removal of the soil will happen during the first 24 hours, whereas we were working with the soil for five full days when we installed the foundation piles a year ago.

Contaminated soil

Any contaminated soil is disposed of separately and is also stored in separated depots. The bottom of these depots has a special film cover. In order to prevent contaminated soil being spread around, we are cleaning road plates and vehicles before leaving the site. Soil specialists were closely involved in preparing our work and environmental experts are monitoring the process during the works. The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service (Omgevingsdienst Noordzeekanaalgebied) is also ensuring that we are doing the job properly. We are using some of the soil dug up to recreate the A10 and the track. Some of the soil we do not need will also be reused partly for other Zuidasdok and Zuidas projects, such as raising the level of the two plots in the Ravel residential neighbourhood.

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