Multidisciplinary area development

As a permanent partner of the area developer, Ballast Nedam Road Specialties is responsible for the layout of the site and ensures good accessibility and unlocking. An interview with project leader Thomas Snelderwaard about the multidisciplinary nature of the long-term project and the innovative collaboration, in which space is created for sustainable experiments.

With Schiphol Airport five minutes away and Amsterdam 15 minutes away, Green Park Aalsmeer is a prime location for both regional entrepreneurs and companies targeting the international market, according to the area developer. The business park is located directly on the N201 and has its own slip road. Ballast Nedam Road Specialties has signed a framework agreement with Green Park Aalsmeer Area Development to realize the site including public road structure. "Under the agreement, we are carrying out various assignments," says Snelderwaard. "A project that, by the way, has been running since 2007 and will be implemented in phases, depending on the sale of the lots."

Former polder area

The nature of the work being carried out by Ballast Nedam Road Specialties on this extensive project is extremely diverse. Snelderwaard: "The new business park is being developed in a former polder area, an immense 105-hectare site. In the past, barns, greenhouses and stables have stood here. Dams and makeshift 'bridges' were also built, with remnants left behind. The soil is contaminated in some places. For example, we regularly find asbestos in the subsoil, and we recently encountered a large amount of glass. The area is being redeveloped in phases, as mentioned above. This means that as soon as a plot has been sold, we will first prepare it for building. The required soil and remediation research will be provided by Arcadis on behalf of Green Park Aalsmeer. Together with our sister organization Dibec Milieukunde, we perform the remediation under our own management under BRL certification. Once delivered ready for construction, the lot owners can start building themselves." 

Innovative collaboration

Getting the lots ready for construction is one, the design of the public infrastructure outside the lot boundaries is another important pillar. Some of this will be done in parallel with preparing the lots for construction. "That requires thorough coordination. A brand-new lot owner often wants to start building right away. As a result, sales sometimes proceed faster than the construction of the public infrastructure and preparing the lots for building," Snelderwaard explains. "Thanks to the multidisciplinary nature of our parent company with many sister organizations, we are able to move quickly. Ballast Nedam Road Specialties may control the contract, but we make grateful use of the expertise of other divisions within the group. The project's previous successes are directly related to the intensive and optimal cooperation between Ballast Nedam Road Specialties and Arcadis. Working closely together on design, preparation and execution creates room for optimizations and smart applications, and scope for innovative concepts. It is a framework agreement, but we see it more as a construction team collaboration, in which we actively participate in order to make a successful contribution to the project goal."     

Broad scope

Ballast Nedam Road Specialties is currently constructing the Middenweg right across the business park in phases, including the construction of two traffic circles and the connection to the N201. "Much of the pre-load has already been excavated and is ready for road construction," Snelderwaard says. "Almost all the facets we control do come into play in this project. It often starts with major earth moving and remediation work. Then sewer work comes in and the road trench is profiled, pavement and asphalt consisting of sustainable ECO carpet pad mixes is applied. The asphalt comes from our own nearby asphalt plant APA in Amsterdam."  

Living-lab

"Within our company we recently opened a brand new living lab," Snelderwaard continues. "There we receive customers, relations and partners and work together through co-creation on sustainability and innovation issues in the field of (circular) asphalt mixtures leading to a sustainable and future-proof infrastructure. Such circular asphalt mixtures are extensively tested and applied in practice. In addition, in the project in Green Park Aalsmeer we are dealing with 'specials' such as the installation of multiple culverts and culvert bridges or the facilitation of a pumping station. We are also regularly called in by lot owners for assistance with excavation and the installation of paving and asphalt. We are there anyway, have prior knowledge of the area ánd all the resources on site."

For Ballast Nedam Road Specialties, the construction of Green Park Aalsmeer is a long-term collaboration with the area developer. "We have a very good relationship with our client and Arcadis and can rightly speak of a successful collaboration," Snelderwaard emphasizes. "Thanks to the open relationship. We express any dissatisfaction with each other and arrive at constructive solutions, in which there is room for experiments and innovations. It's in the DNA of our organization and of our employees: pushing boundaries together."