We try to make the most of this quiet time
While everyone is talking about home office and meetings being held via videoconferencing, there are a handful professions where this gets a bit more complicated, including the construction industry. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that this has a negative impact on those involved. In the west of Frankfurt, our Wilhelm Schütz team has been working since the beginning of March on converting the intersection of Kurmainzer Strasse, Dunantring and Sossenheimer Weg into a roundabout. This is one of the most important construction sites in this area. In times where contact is restricted, one encounters hardly frequented roads and few passers-by. “I enjoy the fact that there are currently no school children in the intersection area,” says Andreas Quint. They are particularly unpredictable and are less likely to stick to barriers and detours than adults. Mobbing drivers, who vent their frustration with the construction site as they drive past the construction workers, have now also disappeared. As foreman at Schütz, Quint is responsible, among other things, for ensuring that nothing happens on the construction site, where large trucks are constantly driving and sometimes have to maneuver backwards. Not an easy job with a full workforce and the usual traffic in this area. The Corona restrictions make the whole thing a bit clearer. Otherwise the current regulations mainly affect the team’s break. Everyone in the container now has their own table there, says Quint. “Four people in 20 square meters. Working conditions at their best.” When asked if he is annoyed that he has to work while others can stay at home, he replies “We are given the opportunity to work” and, together with the rest of the team, makes a visibly satisfied impression.
“We try to make the most of this quiet time,” says Ute Renaud, civil engineer at the Department of Road Construction and Development. Together with her supervisor, Oliver Böttger, she has decided to enlarge the construction site and take up a larger part of the road. “This way we can work more effectively and at the same time do things that we would otherwise have to do one after the other,” reports Renaud. At the beginning of the Dunantring, for example, a sidewalk is currently only available on one side, while the other sidewalk is being torn up and prepared to lay new conduits for power lines. However, Renaud and Böttiger doubt whether the project will be completed much earlier due to the easier working conditions. There are too many trades involved and everything from electricity to sewage has to be laid anew. It would be good if we made up four weeks. The completion of the 2.2 million euro project is planned for the end of April 2022.
We wish all those involved every success and above all good health!