SIA BINDERS 2023
The year 2023 was notable for the road construction company Binders SIA as compared to other construction seasons, last year a higher volume of work was carried out in Riga, implementing municipal infrastructure construction projects. There were fewer projects in the regions of Latvia but the overall volume of work carried out last year was in line with previous years.
Last year also marked the 30th anniversary of Binders’ foundation. We are pleased that the anniversary season was spent working on a large scale and implementing particularly interesting, even unique projects for Latvia.
Last year, the completion of the Ķekava bypass and the opening of the route to traffic was a significant event at the national level.
The Ķekava bypass was opened on 13 October after nearly two years of construction. The bypass is a more than 17 km long route, which reduces transit traffic through Ķekava and several other settlements.
The construction of the Ķekava bypass was the first public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure project in the Baltic states to follow the model: “Design – Build – Finance and Maintain”.
The Ķekava bypass is part of the Bauska highway, the main national motorway Riga – Bauska – Lithuanian border (Grenctāle) (A7) from 7.78 to 25.0 km.
Detailed information on the project and the scope of construction is available HERE (information from Latvijas Valsts ceļi VSIA).
Contracting Authority of the project: Latvijas Valsts ceļi VSIA.
Design and construction: Kekava ABT AS (Luxembourg investment fund TIIC 2 (SCA) SICAR, A.C.B. AS, Road construction company Binders SIA).
Construction subcontractor: road construction company Binders SIA.
Supervision of the construction: Firma L4 SIA.
Construction period: December 2021 – October 2023.
Construction was carried out without technological interruption in winter.
The implementation of the project, which Binders carried out together with its partners in the centre of Riga over a period of ten months, was a particular challenge. The name of the project – Integrating the Rail Baltica project into the city’s infrastructure. A huge amount of work was carried out in a short period of time, under very difficult conditions.
The work took place at a busy transport interchange where different transport infrastructures interconnect.
The project involved the reconstruction of five high-traffic intersections in the area.
The entire length of the Ģenerāļa Radziņa krastmala was reconstructed, with a new pavement structure and the renewal of underground engineering communications. Two bridges over the city canal were rebuilt.
On Ģenerāļa Radziņa krastmala, the cycle path was resurfaced and a pedestrian and cycle ramp was built to connect to the future Rail Baltica railway bridge over the Daugava.
Ģenerāļa Radziņa krastmala has been transformed into an environmentally friendly and accessible area. The previously bleak, degraded area opposite the Central Market has been transformed into a new functional zone with a landscaped recreation area. At its centre are two main elements – a wooden landscaping element and the “heart” of the project – a red oak tree, which was moved overnight under difficult conditions from its previous location in the construction zone to another place, where it was planted and took root.
Contracting Authority of the project: City Development Department of Riga City Council.
Design and construction – RBBL general partnership.
Participants: road construction company Binders SIA, LNK Industries AS, Nordes būve SIA.
Supervision of the construction: Firma L4 SIA.
Last year, the company carried out several tram track infrastructure reconstruction projects in Riga and one in Daugavpils.
In the capital, the reconstruction of tram tracks to adapt them to low-floor trams continued. in parallel, the overall tram track infrastructure was rebuilt and improved – technical solutions were renewed, modernised, passenger platforms were rebuilt, etc.
In November, construction work was completed at the intersection of 11. novembra krastmala and 13. janvāra iela, which is one of the busiest tram routes in the centre of Riga.
According to the construction design, the junction was rebuilt, including the installation of an automated switch control system, the adaptation of the tram contact network structures, the introduction of rainwater drainage solutions and the construction of a carriageway surface adapted to the heavy traffic load.
Last year, Binders carried out similar works on other tram routes in Riga.
In particular, extensive works were undertaken to modify the track infrastructure on the route from the Central Market to the final destination in Ķengarags.
In November, a contract was also signed with Rīgas satiksme SIA for the design and construction of the extension of this line. The line extension will be more than 2 km long. The project will create a transport interchange point where inter-integrated public transport will be available in one place.
In 2023, Binders implemented fewer projects than in other years involving the reconstruction and rehabilitation of national, regional and local roads, as most of its resources were allocated to the above-mentioned projects. The largest and most important road rehabilitation project implemented this year was the reconstruction of the section of the national road (A2) or Vidzeme highway from the Sēnīte traffic junction to Sigulda.
The section of the highway to be rebuilt was almost 7 km long in both directions. The road pavement was rebuilt on the left-hand carriageway, with the entire road structure rebuilt in places. The entire section was asphalted in three layers.
Contracting Authority: Latvijas Valsts ceļi VSIA.
Redevelopment project: Ceļuprojekts SIA.
Supervision of the construction: Firma L4 SIA.
Construction: road construction company Binders SIA.
Binders is also active in the construction of external water and sewerage networks. In this area too, 2023 was a busy year.
One noteworthy project took two years to complete and ended in 2023. In Ozolnieki, Jelgava Municipality, the implementation of the building design Development of Water Management Services in Ozolnieki Village and Agglomeration was completed.
According to the design, a centralised water supply and domestic wastewater sewerage system was built in Ozolnieki. More than 200 households have new connections to centralised sewerage networks. In total, nearly 6 km of engineering networks have been built. The construction process in Ozolnieki covered more than 20 streets. After the construction of the utilities, the streets were resurfaced with asphalt.
Other divisions of the company also performed well in 2023.
The road construction company Binders SIA has two bituminous concrete production plants in Vangaži and Daugavpils. The facts show that in July the combined output of the two plants reached 3 million tonnes over their lifetime. The date on which this threshold was crossed is also known: 17 July 2023.
The total output of the two plants in 2023 was 204 000 t of bituminous concrete. Of this, 165 565 t was produced at the Vangaži plant and 38 436 t at the Daugavpils bituminous concrete plant.
In 2023, the company also developed and improved its technical and technological capacities.
Binders added a machine to its range of construction equipment that preserves the quality characteristics of the material during the bituminous concrete paving process. This is the anti-segregation auger Shuttle Buggy SB 2500E (Roadtec, 2020).
Consequently, in the 2023 construction work season, the asphalt paving process at Binders sites was carried out using two asphalt anti-segregation augers. This not only allows for a better quality of work but also for the more rational planning and organisation of asphalt paving works and more efficient use of resources.
2024 is a year of high workload for Latvian road builders, including Binders, as part of the Rail Baltica project. Binders, as part of the B.S.L. Infra partnership, is already working on the Rail Baltica station and related infrastructure at Riga International Airport.
