The Burgenland Expressway S31 is one of the most critical transport routes in the state of Burgenland, Austria, connecting the cities of Eisenstadt and Oberpullendorf. With a daily traffic volume of around 15,000 vehicles, the route has long been affected by capacity and safety issues. As part of a comprehensive safety upgrade by ASFINAG, SWIETELSKY has been constructing four new, impressive valley crossings near Sieggraben in a joint venture with HABAU since March 2023 to make the expressway future-proof.

A Project of Superlatives with a Focus on Sustainability

The sheer scale of the construction project highlights its complexity: 34 piers are being erected for the four new bridges, with foundations requiring approximately 11,500 linear meters of bored piles and the use of over 37,000 cubic meters of concrete. A significant challenge is meeting the high standards set by the client, ASFINAG, for sustainable and resource-efficient construction in the densely wooded area. To meet these demands in the challenging terrain, the highly efficient incremental launching method is being used, where bridge sections are pushed into place piece by piece. The project is being implemented by SWIETELSKY together with its partner, HABAU.

Pioneering the Future: The Alliance Contract as a Partnership Model

This construction project serves as a pilot for a newly developed alliance contract. In this model, both the client, ASFINAG, and the contracting consortium, including SWIETELSKY, operate within a shared risk sphere. The overarching focus is on the joint success of the project according to the "Best-for-Project" principle, rather than the pursuit of individual interests.

This cooperative form of collaboration is based on a genuine partnership at eye level, transparency, and open communication. Risks and responsibilities are shared and managed jointly to avoid one-sided win-lose scenarios. A fair bonus-malus (gain/pain) system ensures that all contracting partners can benefit from an economical project progression or jointly bear financial losses, while the contractor's actual costs are always reimbursed to ensure fairness.

Quality Before Price: A Demanding Procurement Process

The procurement process itself reflected the high standards for quality. Instead of a pure price competition, a 60:40 weighting of price and quality was applied. The quality criteria included the analysis of opportunities and risks, the presentation of optimization potential, and the references of the key personnel involved.

Furthermore, a key component was a full-day hearing where the alliance team was confronted with concrete problem simulations. This intensively tested not only the technical expertise of the team but also its cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution skills, which the SWIETELSKY team successfully demonstrated. Alliance models like this lead to more professional collaboration, increase quality and economic efficiency, and promote more resource-efficient and sustainable construction through greater overall efficiency.