E18 Koskenkylä–Kotka motorway opened for traffic In Finland

The new motorway from Koskenkylä to Kotka was opened for traffic on Monday, September 1, 2014. Spanning a total of nearly 53 kilometers, the motorway construction was divided into 6 sections, of which the Loviisa–Ruotsinpyhdäs and Ruotsinpyndäs–Ahvenkoski sections were opened for traffic on Monday. The construction started in November 2011. Parts of the motorway were opened for traffic already in 2013, and the opening of the final sections on September 1, 2014, complete the project.

The project is implemented under a life cycle agreement extending to 2026 by Tieyhtiö Valtatie 7 Oy, and the contractor was the consortium Pulteri formed by YIT Construction and Destia. The project won the Construction Site of the Year award from Rakennuslehti magazine.

Project Manager Kari Alavillamo describes the scope of the project:

“Apart from bridge construction, the project also involved very extensive earth construction: a total of some 3.5 million cubic meters, i.e. 700,000 truck loads of excavated soil plus 4.4 million cubic meters, i.e. 590,000 truck loads of transferred soil masses. More than 3,700 people were trained to work at the site and at its highest, the work force strength was 750.”

Transport telematics for the Porvoo–Kotka section were also inaugurated on Monday. Telematics are used for monitoring traffic volumes, speeds and local conditions, and remotely controlled traffic signs and info boards will be controlled on the basis of this information.

E18 Koskenkylä–Kotka project in figures:

• The E18 Koskenkylä–Kotka project involved the conversion of an expressway into a motorway in the Koskenkylä–Loviisa section (17 km) and the construction of a motorway from Loviisa to Kotka (36 km).

• The motorway has 6 new multi-level junctions: Loviisa East, Ruotsinpyhtää, Ahvenkoski, Pyhtää, Siltakylä, and Heinlahti. In addition, the Loviisa West and Sutela multi-level junctions were improved.

• 3 lay-bys

• 19 km of pedestrian and bicycle routes

• 52 km of other road arrangements

• 56 bridge locations, 68 new bridges

o 24 waterway bridges

o 26 intersection bridges

o 2 wooden bridges

o 5 green bridges

o 4 animal underpasses

o 7 pedestrian and bicycle underpasses

• 35 km of noise barriers

• 4 km of ground water protection

• Markkinamäki motorway tunnel 470 m

• 83 km of transport telematics Porvoo–Kotka

• The project is implemented under a life cycle agreement in which the service provider is in charge of the engineering, construction, funding, and maintenance of the motorway until 2026. The cost estimate for the construction project totals approximately EUR 340 million. The total value of the service agreement is approximately EUR 623 million.

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