Self-sustaining development on a historic scale in a Danube municipality

Roads, pavements and car parks are being built and renovated simultaneously in Gönyű, a town of 3,500 inhabitants located along the Danube. Two public tenders have been issued for the comprehensive project. The first call for tenders was published in May, inviting bids for the widening and renovation of nine streets in the town, as well as the construction of pavements.

A half-century gap

Mayor Gábor Major told our portal that the last time sidewalks were built in the 1970s, so the investment will fill a half-century gap. The importance of the road network development, he added, probably does not need to be justified.

The other public procurement call for tenders was published in July, inviting contractors to submit bids for the construction of two large car parks and the renovation of more roads.

Developments will also boost tourism

The construction of the car parks has a dual purpose, said the mayor, as it is also intended to give new impetus to tourism, which is mainly based on the proximity of the Danube. Eighty new parking spaces will be built between Kossuth and Petőfi Streets. This is important not only for visitors but also for locals, as it will make it easier for them to access the town centre, the Mayor's Office and the doctor's surgery. The other car park, with space for 40 cars, will be built on Deák Ferenc Street. In both public procurement cases, the bid submitted by STR Mély- és Magasépítő Kft. was deemed the most favourable.

United in strength - Cooperation between the public and the contractor during a flood

An important requirement on the part of the investor towards the contractor in relation to the projects is effective communication with the local population and that the projects are implemented with zero cubic metres of waste. Gábor Major emphasised that the recycling of materials generated during demolition and construction was a key consideration during the evaluation process. The mayor stressed that the investment would be impossible to implement without the cooperation of the local community, as the widening and reconstruction of roads and pavements would involve temporary traffic restrictions. The cooperation between the parties – the contractor and the local community – had already proven successful during the major Danube floods in early September. The mayor recalled that during the flood wave, Strabag joined in the reinforcement of the embankments and flood protection without being asked, providing sand, machinery and the participation of the company's employees.

The two projects are scheduled for completion next year. Gábor Major added that this is the largest investment in the history of the village of 3,500 inhabitants, with a self-financing of around 730 million HUF.

One street is planned to be fully completed this year

"In two phases, we have been commissioned to renovate nine + five streets, widen pavements and build parking lots. We started the construction works of the first project in mid-September, and this year we will complete the works on Rákóczi Street in full", Sabolcs Adam, the construction manager of the contractor, told our portal.
The one-sided widening of the traffic corridor has already been completed on the aforementioned road in a length of nine hundred and ten metres. It has been dismantled and widened to a width of 1.5 metres, a new pavement paved with paving stones has been constructed and the sunken kerbs have been laid. It is planned to put the new layer of asphalt in place soon and return the Rákóczi road to traffic.

Construction can resume from mid-January

Work is scheduled to resume in the second half of January, weather permitting. The phasing of each work phase has been prepared. The planning and timing of the work, which is taking place in many locations and in residential areas, is a major professional challenge. Szabolcs Ádám said that in the streets involved in both projects, such as Deák Ferenc út, where, in addition to road widening and renovation, new parking lots will be built, the different tasks will be carried out simultaneously.

The nine streets - Béke, Deák Ferenc, Kikötő, Rákóczi Ferenc, Zrínyi Miklós, Jókai Mór, Dózsa György, Deák köz and Duna row - will have their traffic corridors widened on one side, constructing a double-sided recessed kerb for a total length of 9222 metres, and demolishing the existing pavement on one side and replacing it with widened paved footpaths.

In addition to the concrete kerbing, the contractor's tasks for the road rehabilitation include the construction of a concrete pavement base, asphalt binder course and new wearing course. In addition to the repair of road embankments and drainage ditches, a river channel will be constructed in one work area over a length of about 8 metres to ensure controlled drainage of rainwater.

Zero waste project

One of the important commitments of the project was to produce zero cubic meters of waste during the project implementation, said Szabolcs Ádám. This will be achieved by fully recycling the 9522 cubic metres of soil excavated during the widening of pavements and roads. The concrete from the demolition of the old footpaths will be quarried and incorporated into the new pavements. The worn asphalt layers of the nine roads will be regraded after mopping and will also be paved.

Preparatory work has also started on the second phase

The nine streets are scheduled to be fully completed by summer 2025. For the second phase, the contractor took over the worksites and started the preparatory phase of the project in early December. According to the call for tenders, this includes the reconstruction of Bem József Street, the Kossuth and Deák Street car parks and the extension of Duna Row and Dózsa György Street. In the case of the latter, the expert told us, the last section of the road, which is currently gravel, will have to be completely resurfaced after the current one is lifted. In this phase alone, more than 1,040 square metres of road will be resurfaced, with a further 1,050 square metres for the construction of new parking spaces.

Timing and grouping of tasks is one of the keys to the success of the project

Szabolcs Ádám said that in the case of several road sections, the planning of the works and the timing of the construction requires more care than usual on the part of the contractor. Without claiming to be exhaustive, these include the construction of the parking lot on Kossuth Lajos Street in the heart of the settlement. The works will take place between this road and Petőfi Street, where a total of 80 parking spaces will be created on both sides of the road. In addition to the preservation of the historic environment and the cobbled road, it is important to note that the Mayor's Office, a doctor's surgery and a church are located in this area, access to which must be guaranteed at all times.

In the case of Bem József Street, the contractor will have to solve a complex task: in addition to the demolition, widening and reconstruction of the pavement and the road, a cycle path will also be built. The timing of the works is influenced by the fact that the school is located here.
A total of 6,435 square metres of pavement will be renewed in Gönyü under the two projects. A total of 21820 square metres of road surface will be upgraded.
The construction works of the largest self-financed investment in the history of the municipality are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.