Archaeological finds during the construction of the district heating pipes in Seltersweg have rendered the previous schedule for the development obsolete. Stadtwerke Gießen reacted immediately and rescheduled the work.
During the construction work in Seltersweg, workers came across remains of the historic city wall. This has cancelled the schedule for the development of the street with district heating pipes. While the archaeologists from the Lower Monument Protection Authority are currently painstakingly uncovering and documenting the valuable finds - remains of the wall from the 1530s - Stadtwerke Giessen (SWG) has had to reschedule at short notice. "We entered into immediate discussions with all parties involved and, together with the city authorities, the monument protection authorities and the BID, the Seltersweg Business Improvement District, we have found what we hope is a viable solution for all sides," says Matthias Funk, SWG's Technical Director, summarising the results.
New construction schedule
The plan envisages that the original third construction phase, the pipe-laying between Goethestrasse and Wolkengasse, will be brought forward and divided into three smaller sections. The work has now already begun at the level of Goethestrasse and will then continue in the direction of Wolkengasse. Here, the workers are only opening the road in stages and closing the sections again as quickly as possible. "By reacting immediately to the unforeseeable delay and rescheduling the construction work, we are now able to reduce the time lost due to the archaeological work as much as possible," emphasises Matthias Funk. Markus Pfeffer, Managing Director of the Seltersweg BID, was also involved in the planning. "Of course, a construction site like this is a burden for the traders in Seltersweg. However, thanks to the rapid exchange of information and close coordination, SWG was able to successfully reschedule the entire project in the shortest possible time so that the restrictions are as minimal as possible. Of course, the new plan ensures that the shops remain easily accessible for all customers during the construction period," said the Managing Director.
Disruption-free for the city festival
Of course, the upcoming city festival also plays an important role in the considerations. SWG is planning to prepare the surface of Seltersweg in good time so that visitors can reach the city festival via Giessen's promenade without any significant disruption. Matthias Funk hopes for understanding: "We ask traders and citizens to be patient. Of course, we will do everything in our power to ensure that the festivities run as smoothly as possible".
Timetable for district heating expansion uncertain
SWG had already started laying the district heating pipes in Seltersweg at the beginning of May. Shortly afterwards, the first delays occurred due to the strike by the trade union IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt - with far-reaching consequences: As the civil engineering work was suspended, subsequent trades were unable to start their work on the originally planned date. The detailed schedule was cancelled: the target of completing the construction site before the city festival could no longer be met at this point. Due to the discovery of the remains of the wall, it is currently not possible to predict when the construction work can be completed. "The significant recovery of a part of the city's history makes it impossible at this point in time to give an estimate of the timing of the district heating expansion in Seltersweg," explains Matthias Funk. As soon as the excavation work has been completed, SWG will do everything in its power to finalise the district heating expansion in Seltersweg as quickly and efficiently as possible, the Technical Director continued.