Züblin wins a contract for the third section of BAB 44 highway. Credit: Ed. Züblin AG / Strabag AG.

Austrian construction company Strabag’s three subsidiaries have secured a €183m contract from Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßen-planungs-und-bau (DEGES) to build a 6km section of the BAB 44 highway, including a 1.7km tunnel.

Under the contract, construction work for the section of the highway between Kassel and Herleshausen will be performed by Züblin Tunnelling in collaboration with Strabag Large-Scale Projects & Waterproofing, as well as Züblin Ground Engineering.

Züblin Tunnelling will serve as the general contractor for the project, which is part of German Unity Transport Project No 15.

“A 2.3km-long segment of the BAB 44 highway will be constructed north of the tunnel and a 2.1km section will be built south of it.”

The section originates from east of the town Wehretal-Oetmannshausen and extends southwards to the Sontra-West junction.

Once it is operational, it will link the federal highway network between the BAB 7 highway near Kassel and the BAB 4 highway near Wommen.

The project’s attraction is the 1.7km-long Boyneburg tunnel, which includes two tunnel tubes with two lanes each linked by five emergency cross passages. Each of the emergency cross passage has two emergency bays.

A 2.3km-long segment of the BAB 44 highway will be constructed north of the tunnel and a 2.1km section will be built south of it. A total of five underpasses and ramp structures, seven bearing walls, retaining structures, and three bridges will be constructed along the new section.

Strabag CEO Thomas Birtel said: “We are proud that our intragroup cooperation in this project will make another contribution to the long-awaited closing of the gap in the strategically important east-west connection.”

This marks the third contract secured by the Strabag group as part of the BAB 44 highway upgrade.