Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
At Amsterdam Central Station, the public space on the center side will be redesigned from the monumental station building to the Damrak and from the Schreierstoren to the Droogbak. GEO2 Engineering BV, as partner of main contractor Max Bögl Nederland for project De Entree, has been commissioned to develop the geotechnical design for the project.
An important element of the redesign, according to Abjan Jacobse of GEO2 Engineering BV, is that there will be more space in front of the station for water, pedestrians and cyclists. And under that "new" water will be a bicycle storage facility for as many as 7,000 bicycles. "We have been involved in the project from the tender phase and, together with Max Bögl, created the winning geotechnical bid design. Our scope in the tender phase was threefold; to perform the geotechnical calculations for the new bicycle parking, the new Wester access and the repair/replacement of a number of quay walls."
Cross section of the future bicycle parking lot. (source: wUrck)
Underwater concrete and anchors
Work began in January 2018 to deepen the Western Access. Jacobse: "The road under the train tracks on the west side of Station Island has been deepened, giving it a bit more headroom. This subcontract has already been completed. Now the contractor is busy moving and renewing cables and pipes so that construction of the bicycle parking facility can start from 2019. We are currently in the process of working out the design into an implementation design, in which we encounter many interfaces: the existing (historical) built environment, the monumental station building and the North/South Line. It will soon be a large cofferdam of approximately 115 by 75 meters and 10 meters deep. We opted for a traditional, robust cofferdam with underwater concrete and anchors. This is where the bicycle parking facility will be built on dry land. After construction, most of the bike shed will 'disappear' under water and the tour boats can sail over it." The contractor expects to complete construction of the bicycle parking facility in about five years.
