📋 Tender Overview
The state of Baden-Württemberg has launched a collective tender for the replacement of 31 bridges on federal roads that are in need of repair. Planning work can now begin.
The state of Baden-Württemberg has initiated the replacement of 31 bridges on federal highways in need of repair in one contract. In order to use the available resources more efficiently, a collective tender was used for the first time. This means that the planning work can begin.
Many bridges in the state have now reached an age where they urgently need to be replaced. This currently affects around one in ten bridges in Baden-Württemberg. Quick action is crucial here.
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann
"Numerous bridges in the state have now reached an age where they urgently need to be replaced. This currently affects around one in ten bridges in Baden-Württemberg. Quick action is crucial here - not only because of safety concerns, but also because dilapidated bridges cause high economic damage," said Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann following the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. "The collective tender is an important step to complete more projects in a shorter time."
New instruments for efficient restructuring
"The state has been using a new strategy since 2011 and prioritizes renovations over road reconstruction, expansion and new construction. The strategy is correct, but we must go further because the tasks are getting bigger every year," said Transport Minister Winfried Hermann . The collective tender would bundle complex work. "We are using the available resources effectively to create the conditions for the sustainable security of the transport infrastructure. This means we can renew bridges more quickly and are more efficient. This saves time and guarantees the security of our transport routes," emphasized Hermann.
Renewal of 100 bridges per year necessary
The bridges to be replaced are spread across all four administrative districts. Around one in ten bridges currently needs to be renovated or replaced. In the future, up to 100 bridges will need to be fundamentally repaired, upgraded or replaced each year. If this is not successful, traffic could be increasingly restricted - for example because entire bridges have to be closed. The heaviest transports are affected first: This particularly affects companies, as restrictions on heavy traffic requiring a permit in particular entail additional costs.
The Ministry of Transport is therefore using various instruments to increase the number of bridges renovated each year. A key component is the bundling of several projects in a collective tender. To this end, the Ministry of Transport has for the first time conducted a so-called competitive dialogue for the planning of replacement construction.
Competitive dialogues are used in particular for complex tenders where costs cannot be precisely estimated in advance. These procedures offer the necessary flexibility through interactive and phased processes to develop optimal solutions together with the bidders.
All planning is part of the order
In addition to the design planning for the replacement buildings, the contractor also provides and coordinates the necessary specialist planning. This includes, for example, road planning, subsoil reports or nature conservation studies. These must also be coordinated with the relevant departments and authorities. The contract has a volume of around 30 million euros. The ministry currently estimates the total investment costs for the 31 buildings, including construction costs, at around 150 million euros.
Bridge structures are closely inspected
The country's bridge structures are regularly inspected by experts. A comprehensive main inspection is carried out every six years, and a simple inspection is carried out every three years by structural engineers. The road maintenance departments also inspect the bridges annually in order to detect possible damage at an early stage.
