At its meeting yesterday, Brno City Council selected a winning bid in the tender procedure for the construction of a new collector that will run under Česká Street. The contractor will be a consortium of three companies. After the statutory 15-day period for submitting objections, the City of Brno and Technické sítě Brno will be able to sign a contract with the contractor.
A collector is an underground tunnel which enables safe installation and storage of engineering and other networks, both for primary transit over distances and for secondary distribution to consumers in connected buildings. Distribution pipes and cables are conveniently accessible for inspection and maintenance, and even in the event of an accident or malfunction, there is no need to dig up the surface of the street, causing disruption and inconvenience for the public and costs to the city.
“The construction of a more than 200-metre collector in the city center is one of the largest contracts that we will start this year,” said Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková. “The construction itself will not be easy, but its benefits for all local residents and business operators in the future will be indisputable. All cables, water supply, sewage and other engineering networks will go through one tunnel, to which administrators will have unlimited access. In the event of any defects or accidents, we will not have to limit life in the street and its surroundings by digging at the surface.”
The chosen contractor for the collector, which will run from the intersection of Česká and Solniční streets to Náměstí Svobody, was an association of three companies under the name “SFP – Kolektor ČÁRA”. It submitted the best value offer worth CZK 584,771,893 (excluding VAT). The consortium consists of SUBTERRA, a. s., FIRESTA-Fišer, reconstruction and construction, a. s., and POHL cz, a. s. The competitive price is higher than previous estimates, mainly due to price increases for some budget items, or for survey and geodetic work intended to ensure greater safety during the project.
“After the 15-day period has passed, we will be able to sign a contract with the contractor,” added René Černý, 1st Deputy Mayor responsible for investments. “The construction workers will then start creating a work schedule, from which we will also know the details regarding the start of implementation and other follow-up steps. We estimate that the schedule could be ready by the middle of the holidays. The work itself will only begin after that. Together with the construction companies, we will ensure that the restrictions are as small as possible, but they cannot be avoided. The project is necessary due to the emergency state of all networks located under Česká Street.”
Česká will remain passable, but in some places it may become more narrow. Securing existing buildings, which will be carried out using low-pressure grouting, as well as the occasional movement of construction mechanisms when removing excavated soil during excavation, will be challenging in terms of noise.
In connection with the upcoming event, the Brněnské komunikace company is contacting property owners and presenting them with basic information about the construction of the collector.
“Flyers with a general and then a more detailed description of the project will also be delivered to homes,” said Michal Chládek, chair of the board of directors of the municipal company Technické sítě Brno. “We consider communication with local businesses and residents to be an integral and important part of the preparations. Our joint effort is and will be to explain to everyone the positive aspects of the project, as well as its complexity, and to ensure that locals and residents of Brno who pass through have access to up-to-date information.”
The implementation period is set at three years. The first two years will be spent mainly on digging the collector, while the last year will be dedicated to the street itself. It will be newly paved, just like other roads in the center. There will also be new street furniture.
Information about the project, the method of implementation and an outline of the work can be found on the website cobude.brno.cz. This page will gradually publish news and essential information regarding the work on the new collector.
