Espoo, Finland, 2016-01-12 12:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRV GROUP PLC PRESS RELEASE 12 JANUARY 2016 AT 13.00
SRV participates in implementing Ring Road I project at Keilaniemi
SRV is participating in the development of the modern, seaside urban environment at Keilaniemi, Espoo, and is taking forward the Ring Road I construction project at Keilaniemi. The company’s road construction subsidiary SRV Infra Oy will implement the project’s street and road construction work, which is starting in January. SRV Infra will serve as the main contractor in the project, which is being implemented in cooperation with the City of Espoo, the Finnish Transport Agency and the Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. In the project, Ring Road I will be transferred to an underground concrete tunnel, and a green deck will be built above it. “The objective of the Ring Road I Keilaniemi project is to link Otaniemi, Keilaniemi and Tapiola into an integrated urban area, facilitate housing construction adjacent to the metro station, which opens in August 2016, and to improve traffic flow. In the underground tunnel, the noise and emissions impact of the major highway will be minimised. The changes will also make the living environment more pleasant for existing residents,” explains Hannu Lehtikankare , Construction Manager, City of Espoo Public Works Department. The transfer of Ring Road I to a tunnel is an essential element of development plans for the entire Keilaniemi area. The tunnelling will enable the construction of tower buildings planned for the area. A final decision on the construction of the towers has not yet been made. Since 2008, SRV has had a planning option for the site, and the parties are currently negotiating the purchase of the residential tower plots. Decisions on the possible purchase of the plots will be made during January-February. “SRV has been strongly involved in developing the Keilaniemi area and the planned residential towers since 2006. The Keilaniemi project coincides perfectly with our strategy of developing urban centres located at transport nodes, and it would be a magnificent continuation to our REDI project, which is currently under way. In addition, the Keilaniemi landscape is totally unique, and the project, when implemented, will again offer something completely new to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area’s housing market,” adds Timo Nieminen , SRV’s Executive Vice President, Project Development in Finland.
Four residential towers and a parking facility are planned for Keilaniemi. When implemented, the Keilaniemi Towers will be Finland’s tallest residential buildings, with the tallest tower reaching nearly 145 metres in height. A total of more than 1,000 housing units are planned for the four towers. Provision has also been made for the location of commercial and office premises in the vicinity of the towers.
Implementation in two phases, significant traffic arrangements The Ring Road I Keilaniemi project will implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the construction of around half of the tunnel, 220 metres, as well as the Otasolmu split-level interchange, and the excavation works required by the tower buildings and the Raide-Jokeri light rail link will be implemented. The goal is to progress swiftly with the excavation works during winter, spring and summer 2016, so that they would be as ready as possible before the start-up of metro traffic in August 2016. The first half of the tunnel will be completed by autumn of 2018, enabling the construction of the first two tower buildings. Ultimately, the tunnel will be around 400 metres long, but the final part and the other possible two tower buildings will not be constructed until later. The project will see the construction of a modern, seaside urban centre, respecting the traditions of the area. The Aalto University campus and the offices of many international companies will make the area a vibrant urban milieu – and also easy to reach, due to the new metro link as well as the other transport infrastructure now being built. “The project will naturally affect Ring Road I and Länsiväylä motorway traffic quite significantly for a number of years. In the first phase of the traffic modifications, the Ring Road I lanes will be rearranged and the carriageway moved westward, to make room for the excavation of the adjacent tower buildings. Safety will be ensured by reducing the speed limit to 50 km per hour. Some cycling and pedestrian routes will have to be closed for the duration of the work, but travel below Ring Road I will be ensured throughout the project. These changes will be in effect until the summer of 2016, when the line of Ring Road I will be moved temporarily eastward, next to the metro station, to allow the construction of the road tunnel. All parties to the project will make every effort to ensure that the traffic arrangements go as smoothly as possible, and that information is easily available,” says Timo Sinkkonen , Project Manager in SRV Infra. In the future, traffic will flow more smoothly when new interchanges are built for Ring Road I. At the northern end of the tunnel will be built the Otasolmu circular interchange, from which connections will continue to Karhusaarentie and Keilaniemi. At the southern end of the tunnel, on the other hand, will be built a parallel interchange, via which access from the Länsiväylä motorway to Keilaniemi will be arranged. The Tapiolantie junction will remain for the time being a traffic-light junction, to which a new ramp to Ring Road I in the direction of Leppävaara will be built on the Otaniemi side.
Further information: Timo Nieminen, Executive Vice President, SRV Group Plc, tel. +358 400 424 552, timo.nieminen@srv.fi Sami Korhonen, Production Director, SRV Group Plc, tel. +358 40 519 5926, sami.korhonen@srv.fi Harri Tanska, Director of Public Works, City of Espoo Public Works Department, tel. +58 450 383 3209, hannu.tanska@espoo.fi Päivi Kauhanen, Senior Vice President, Communications, tel. +358 50 598 9560, paivi.kauhanen@srv.fi
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