Heat wave in Görlitz: Construction site on Promenade Street further delayed!

Heat wave in Görlitz: Construction site on Promenade Street further delayed!

The construction site on Görlitzer Promenadenstrasse is causing both questions and delays. The city reports construction delays that are due to the current high temperatures. According to Sächsische, the top layer of asphalt cannot be installed as planned due to the summer heat, as the asphalt only works at these temperatures slowly cools down. This is likely to not only affect the quality of the installation, but also significantly extend the construction time.

The city's press spokeswoman, Sylvia Otto, admits that the original language was unfortunate, but is reluctant to provide information about the exact extent of the delay. Civil engineering expert Manuel Bremer, on the other hand, expresses concerns and notes that higher temperatures should actually promote the compaction of the asphalt. Residents and residents drive on the closed road, which could further endanger the freshly applied surface layer.

Heat as a constant companion

The high temperatures have made construction work very difficult. The installation of the new asphalt surface layer was planned for the 27th calendar week, but now the construction period is under a bad star due to heat damage. The first construction phase, which extends from Kastanienallee to Holunderweg, was originally scheduled to take place from June 30th to July 7th. This deadline has now been postponed to July 11th, as reported by Wochenkurier. The second construction phase will run from July 14th to 25th, although traffic restrictions can also be expected here.

Another problem is the separate disposal of the old road surface. This was not uncontaminated as originally thought. During the work, network cracks were discovered in the underlying asphalt layer, which now also need to be repaired in order to ensure the future stability of the road surface.

The challenge of processing

The city of Görlitz is now having the milled material checked for potential contamination. It could be that the old road surface is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This is particularly important because the legally set limits must not be exceeded. It remains unclear how much additional costs the city will incur for disposal, and the duration of the analyzes is also not yet known.

The issue of heat and the construction delays show that new challenges due to climatic changes also have to be mastered in the construction industry. According to a BASt report, material adjustments for climate-optimized asphalts are already underway to meet future requirements. In particular, the use of light-colored aggregates and special binders could help to improve the thermophysical properties of the building materials.

It remains to be seen whether and how these innovative approaches will be used in Görlitz. What is certain, however, is that the construction site on Promenadenstrasse shows how important it is to continue to find flexible solutions in construction in the future.