Sustainable salt storage for RWS road maintenance depots

The construction consortium Peek Bouw & Infra and Van Norel approached Bosch Beton for various retaining walls to construct the new road maintenance depots. Peek Bouw & Infra and Van Norel had previously worked together and, following a tender, received the contract to construct new road maintenance depots in ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zevenaar and Staphorst.

Salt storage

Bosch Beton supplied various prefab retaining walls of 465 cm high. L retaining walls with heel were used for the external walls and T retaining walls were used for the central walls.
Rijkswaterstaat wanted to trial using two storage containers instead of one in several locations. Creating two storage containers was easy using T retaining walls as the T retaining wall design makes them extremely suitable for salt storage. Bosch Beton has both L and T walls in its range up to a height of 7.5 metres.

High concrete quality

Road spreading salt is an extremely corrosive material. Our self-compacting high-strength C60/75 concrete is of high quality, which ensures a long service life. We also adhere to strict quality standards for our products. For instance, we have KOMO certification that provides assurance of the high quality of our retaining walls. Bosch Beton also has the CSC Gold certificate; a global quality mark ensuring that precast concrete is produced in an ecologically, socially and economically responsible way. Bosch Beton’s smart engineering approach to production, combined with the sophisticated concrete mixture ensures a long service life that is, in turn, a good match for the sustainability aspect. Another advantage is that the walls are smooth on both sides.

Customisation and placement

The preliminary process demanded preparation, which involved certain challenges to which we contributed ideas, including how to install the sand bed and dimensioning aspects. The placement itself involved a lot of precision work. As the pile caps for the roof construction were already in place, the retaining walls were fitted with recesses in our factory. This optimises the storage space.

Our Service team was on site to take care of the placement and provide assistance. We placed the retaining walls using a telescopic crane and a heavy vacuum clamp. Any minor damage created during placement was repaired immediately. The good preparation and coordination meant that the walls were placed quickly and the project was delivered on time. The roof construction was fitted afterwards.

Excellent cooperation resulted in good craftsmanship being achieved by all involved as well as an end result about which everyone is extremely satisfied.

‘The rapid and well-coordinated placement meant that Rijkswaterstaat’s salt storage was operational quickly’,  stated Jochem van Vliet, Peek Bouw & Infra BV.

Road maintenance depots

Rijkswaterstaat’s road maintenance depot programme was established in 2016 after various road maintenance depots were reaching the end of their service life. Another reason was to improve the quality of these depots and meet the latest sustainability requirements. Various road maintenance depots are spread across the Netherlands to store equipment and road spreading salt.

All 55 road maintenance depots in the Netherlands are being upgraded as part of the road maintenance depot programme. These adaptations are due to be completed by 2026.

The road maintenance depots in ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zevenaar and Staphorst were completely re-built. Sustainability played a major role in these new-builds. For instance, the maintenance depot in ‘s Hertogenbosch, which opened officially on 7 April 2022, is fitted with solar panels.

Collaboration

Various parties were involved in this Rijkswaterstaat project. As well as the Peek Bouw & Infra and Van Norel consortium, Jura BV also worked on the project. Jura BV offers total solutions for drainage in public spaces. The company’s contribution to the salt storage included inspectable reinforced concrete concealed line gutters. Bosch Beton’s retaining walls were used in various locations.

The road maintenance depots in ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zevenaar and Staphorst are now in operation.

Further information

If you would like to know more about this project or our customised retaining wall solutions for storage, please feel free to contact our consultants.