Repair work completed on the Szikszó section of the M30 motorway

Following notification of completion of warranty repairs, the Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM) and representatives of the operator Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt. (MKIF) inspected the section of the M30 motorway between Miskolc and Szikszó, which has been closed since February 2024, as part of an on-site inspection on Tuesday. As a result of the on-site inspection, the affected section of the motorway will be opened and returned to traffic on Wednesday, the ministry announced.

Unpredictable groundwater movement caused the embankment to collapse

The road had to be closed last February due to a dam breach near Szikszó. We reported in detail on the reasons for the M30 slip and the background to the restoration in our previous article. The section of the motorway between Miskolc and Szikszó, which was constructed by STRABAG , was handed over in October 2021. The closure took place in February 2024, after a 150-metre section of the embankment slipped at the beginning of the year. Independent experts working at the Budapest University of Technology concluded that the damage was caused by unforeseeable groundwater movement, which occurred after the technical handover and could not have been predicted. This groundwater saturated the deep clay layers under the embankment, leading to soil slippage and uneven subsidence.

The contractor proposed several solutions.

After the closure, STRABAG worked with the client and external experts to develop several solutions to the problem. One of the first steps was to construct a deep drain, drain the groundwater and reinforce the subsoil with reinforced concrete piles. From among the contractor's concepts, ÉKM, with the involvement of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology, chose to completely demolish the right track and drill more than 750 60 cm diameter reinforced concrete piles would be drilled, and after concreting, the embankment and track bed would be rebuilt on top of them. On the left track, demolition and reconstruction will take place from the surface level to a depth of four metres. The length affected by the intervention is 300-350 metres. The slipped section was demolished and completely rebuilt.

During the inspection to check the repairs, the experts found everything to be in order.

Following the report on the completion of warranty repairs, representatives of Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM) and the operator Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt. (MKIF) conducted an on-site inspection on Tuesday. The ministry said in a statement that experts had found everything to be in order during their inspection of the quality of the repair work, and as a result, the affected section of road could be reopened. In order to allow motorists to use the previously closed road as soon as possible, the temporary traffic diversion will be lifted following the inspection. In addition to removing the temporary equipment, signs and barriers placed on the road, this will include covering the signs placed on the diversion routes and repainting the road markings. After this, traffic is expected to resume on the road on Wednesday afternoon, without any restrictions.