Denmark has awarded a contract for consultancy services to Danish engineering company Cowi for two motorway projects in Kolding and Randers.
The combined contract award is around €107.5 million (US$112.15 million). Both are part of the national Infrastructure Plan 2035 to support a greener future.
The Danish Road Directorate chose COWI over two other consultants for the expansion of the Sønderjyske Motorway near Kolding.
For the second motorway project in connection with the E45 Nordjyske Motorway near Randers, COWI was one of six bidders. The company’s bid was “in the middle of the field on price”, according to a company statement.
For the Sønderjyske Motorway near Kolding, COWI will handle the design phases leading up to a tender. Initially, COWI must update the existing environmental impact assessment from 2011 so that it complies with a laws and regulations in relation to issues such as noise and endangered animals. When it is ready, the Folketing, the Danish parliament, is expected to formally adopt a construction law for the project in 2023.
“Climate-related sustainability is now playing a greater role than in previous motorway projects to which COWI has contributed,” said Carsten Sandgaard Christensen, COWI’s project manager for the Sønderjyske Motorway contract.
He noted that Vejdirektoratet – the road directorate – usually insists upon sustainability aspects that are linked to increased traffic safety and reduced noise. But this contact was different, in that the directorate raised sustainability in the tender material as an interdisciplinary discipline rooted in project management.
At the same time, a large number of new CO2-reducing requirements are being set. “We are of course super happy about this at COWI, because it is also the path we want to take as a company.”
Michael Grøne Andersson sees good opportunities for the two motorway projects in Kolding and Randers to become a lever for COWI’s strategic focus on sustainability and green transformation in the company’s handling of tomorrow’s motorway and bridge projects.
The aim of the E45 / E20 Sønderjyske Motorway project, near Kolding, is to widen the 6km of the four-lane existing motorway to six lanes. There is also the expansion of seven bridges and the establishment of new noise barriers. The project has a total investment of €76.2 million with completion in 2028.
The E45 Nordjyske Motorway project near Randers involves rebuilding three access and exit facilities and partly prepare them for a possible future six-lane motorway between Randers and Aarhus. In addition, the project includes new construction and expansion of bridges as well as the establishment of noise barriers. Total investment will be around €31 million and completion is expected in 2025.
Recognising that the transport sector must contribute massively to the national Danish target of 70 per cent CO₂ reduction by 2030, the Danish Road Directorate has introduced a large number of sustainability requirements for construction, maintenance and operation of roads. Among the new initiatives are requirements for maximum emissions from selected materials such as concrete and steel. This entails calculating the climate and environmental impact from the materials and that the latest EPD standards – environmental product declarations – are used for specific products which contain material such as steel, concrete, plastic and asphalt.
