In two contract areas, Kreate’s experts in transport infrastructure construction helped to build the centre of the Finnoo district around the underground station. In addition to the phased construction of Espoo’s new residential area and the traffic, the work also faced challenges such as highly variable ground conditions and working near vibration-sensitive underground and waste tunnels.
Next to the metro station, which opened in late 2022, the Finnoontorinportti underpass under the Finnoo Bridge was completed to serve the pedestrian traffic of the shopping centre and the metro station as well as bus passengers. Regarding the underpass, our contracts included things such as foundation reinforcement; construction of retaining walls and other concrete structures; comprehensive masonry work, such as installing granite tiling inside the bridge and in stairwells; and building green roofs. Careful planning and professional implementation were key when we did piling work next to the underground station and the vibration-sensitive subway tunnels – the nearest bored piles were drilled into the ground only approximately one metre from the station building. In addition, the waste tunnel of HSY (the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority) that runs underground was a special consideration.
In connection with the Finnoontorinportti underpass, we built a completely new covered staircase on the east side of the Finnoo Bridge. The staircase leads up to the temporary bridge we built, and through it to the Finnoo Bridge. At the same time, we implemented the superstructures on the west side of the Finnoo Bridge for the pedestrian and cyclist tunnel coming from the southwestern-southern direction. On the west side of the bridge, we built a canopy in the stairway leading north and are installing the paving. In addition, we installed several dozens of bicycle locking racks on different sides of the underpass. We built a wood-covered bridge in the underpass to serve as a temporary route for pedestrians and cyclists until the future widening of the Finnoo Bridge.
In the contract, we also implemented the pedestrian and bicycle paths on the northern edge of Kaitaantie and the pavement on the west side of Finnoo Bridge with its lighting as well as temporary and permanent bus stops.
Our know-how in transport infrastructure construction was also emphasised at the intersection of Finnoonsilta and Kaitaantie, where we repaired a wastewater drain under the pile slabs at a depth of more than 5 metres. The construction, which took place in several stages, required not only strong expertise in special foundation construction in conditions of clay and silt, but also accurate scheduling and smooth traffic planning, due to the car traffic past the worksite. All the steel and concrete pilings of the project were handled by Kreate’s joint venture KFS Finland.
The Finnoo contract served as a pilot project for the City of Espoo in using the Infrakit project bank. In a versatile transport infrastructure construction contract, we used our familiar project banks, information models and machine control now also with the City of Espoo.
Finnoo is intended to be a pioneer in sustainable urban construction, and our construction was guided by low-emission, sustainable solutions. The contract took into account the City of Espoo’s sustainable development goals, for example by using only renewable, fossil-free fuels in earth-moving machines and trucks, and by ensuring that all the electricity used on the worksite was renewable energy and at least one of the machines used electric power. In addition, we take into account the emission values, for example in the granite natural-stone materials of the Finnoontorinportti underpass.
The customer was the City of Espoo. The value of the contract was approximately 4 million euros, and the implementation time was from January 2022 to November 2022.
