Federally owned highways company Autobahn has selected a Hochtief-led joint venture (JV) for a road project valued at around €450m ($529.1m) in Duisburg, Germany.
Dubbed 'Berliner Brückenzug', the project includes the widening of A59 highway to six lanes over roughly 2km and the renewal of the adjoining A40 interchange.
Construction is set to commence in January 2026, with an expected completion date in late 2029.
Hochtief takes the technical lead on the initiative, holding a share of approximately €145m.
The scope of work includes replacing the Berliner Brückenzug bridge complex, which comprises five consecutive bridge structures with a combined length of about 1.8km.
The bridges span the Ruhr river, Rhine-Herne Canal, Duisburg harbour basin, a Deutsche Bahn railway line, and a city park.
In the initial phase, contractors will construct a new section west of the existing bridge to accommodate southbound traffic; once this is finished and operational, the current structure will be decommissioned and replaced.
The project also involves significant changes at the Duisburg motorway interchange, including new overpasses and connections between the A59 and A40 motorways.
These modifications aim to redirect traffic flows more efficiently throughout construction, which will proceed without stopping current traffic.
Since 2020, Hochtief has been involved in constructing the new A40 Rhine bridge Duisburg-Neuenkamp nearby as part of a JV.
In addition, Hochtief and its partners are widening the A1 Rhine bridge and the adjacent A1 section at the Leverkusen interchange to eight lanes over a distance of 2.5km between Cologne and Leverkusen.
Hochtief CEO Juan Santamaría Cases said: “We are delighted that we can use our experience to help improve transportation infrastructure in the Ruhr region with this major project.”
Autobahn, through its Rheinland division based in Essen, is managing planning and implementation for this expansion.
The JV comprises of Hochtief Infrastructure and Eiffage SEH.
The A59 serves as a major north-south transport route in Duisburg, linking key industrial areas, logistics centres and commuter paths with regional and national networks.
The infrastructure currently experiences high usage levels and has become structurally outdated.
The planned upgrade is intended to increase capacity and meet long-term transport demands for Duisburg and its surrounding region.
