Central Plaza, Track Concrete, Emmenbrücke, Lucerne

Initial Situation
The Central Plaza project in Emmenbrücke includes the construction of a nine-story residential and commercial building. The existing Panlog railway track is to pass through the ground floor of the new building. This main logistics track of Swiss Steel AG transports approximately 6,000 tons of steel per day. During the entire construction period, the track must remain operational. As a preliminary measure, a temporary bridge structure was constructed to ensure uninterrupted operation during the construction phase. Swiss Steel AG provided a very tight timeframe for building this auxiliary bridge – the work had to be completed, and the track made operational again by 6:00 AM on August 14, 2017, starting from August 2.

Solution and Assessment
The solution plan proposed a 12-day construction period for the auxiliary bridge, using the quick-setting concrete Concretum® Q-FLASH 5/20. During this time, the following tasks had to be completed: removal of the existing track structure, remediation of contaminated soil, excavation, formwork, reinforcement, installation of approximately 200 m³ of pumped concrete for the bridge deck, waterproofing application, and the construction of the track superstructure as a solid roadway.

The high-tech concrete Q-FLASH 5/20 achieved a residual moisture level of below 4.0 CM-% approximately six hours after placement, as confirmed by control testing. This allowed the waterproofing and sealing to be applied within the given timeframe. Conventional concrete would typically require about four weeks for this step, depending on weather conditions. Thanks to the use of Q-FLASH 5/20, the schedule set by Swiss Steel AG was met without issues.

Through intelligent planning, detailed preparation, and excellent coordination across disciplines, this ambitious project was successfully executed. The use of Q-FLASH 5/20 in this project demonstrated outstanding time efficiency and set a benchmark in terms of overall economic viability.