Netherlands Next Step Tender

Lindy Molenkamp director of Management Implementation of the province of North Holland and Henk Post director at BAM Infra signed the online collaboration agreement for 3D concrete-printed bicycle bridges along the N243.The innovative technology of 3D concrete printing is in line with a sustainable future in which building is increasingly circular and modular.The province of North Holland will make the N243 provincial road between Alkmaar and Avenhorn safer and carry out major maintenance. Four new 3D-printed concrete bicycle bridges will be built along the road. Area contractor BAM Infra which carries out management and maintenance in various regions in North Holland introduced 3D concrete printing to the province as an innovation. Signing the cooperation agreement is the next step for this part of the project.Creative and innovative solutions Lindy Molenkamp The North Holland polder landscape offers panoramic views. To get to the horizon we have to cross dozens of ditches. With the cooperation agreement we are building a fourfold bridge to a new field . Henk Post agrees This contract is extra special for me. When I talk about 3D concrete printing my childrens eyes start to sparkle. We have to build more sustainably. And we accelerate that through this type of collaboration. We cannot do this alone. Collaboration is essential here. If we look back over 10 years we will see that these kinds of creative and innovative solutions and partnerships have been the starting point for sustainable construction. Less material waste and laborBy using the 3D concrete printing technique constructions can be built with less material. Less material means less CO2 emissions. BAM Infra produces less waste during the construction process such as the formwork for the concrete. Less work and steps are also required on the construction site. They design the bridges using a parametric model. They can easily adapt this model to create unique designs that can be printed immediately.Most sustainable bicycle bridgeRecently a Life Cycle Analysis LCA calculation was drawn up in which a comparison was made between a traditional concrete bicycle bridge which is poured on site a bicycle bridge with concrete prefabricated prefab girders and the 3D concrete printed bicycle bridge. The comparison showed the 3D concrete print bicycle bridge to be the most durable. This is partly due to the low dead weight of the bridge less material due to the printed hollow construction and the limited amount of reinforcing steel. Start 3D printingThe construction contract is currently being drawn up and permits such as environmental permits construction and water permits are being applied for. Depending on the permits the aim is to build 3 bridges in June and July this year. The 4th bridge will be built when the N243 is addressed. A contractor will be selected for this in the coming period tender.