Project details

• Project owner: COFIROUTE
• Project manager: INGEROP
• Contractor: Bouygues TP Régions France

About GTA Group

GTA Group is a group of companies providing services and products for tunnels, motorways, construction, and engineering structures. They specialise in passive protection against fires with industrial coatings, and offer efficient, optimised, and economical technical solutions for many areas related to air, water, and noise. From its headquarters in Luxembourg, GTA Group is located in the heart of Europe with subsidiaries in France, Luxembourg, and Belgium.

In 2021, the group was selected to design, supply, and install 2 kms of noise barriers as part of the work to widen the A10 motorway between Eigne and Sorigny to 2x3 lanes.

About COFIROUTE

COFIROUTE has a strong ambition towards decarbonisation and thus commissioned GTA Group to optimise, from a CO2 emissions point of view, the various components of an anti-noise wall - i.e. concrete (walls and acoustics), steel (posts), coating (anti-corrosion), and logistics.

Today, thanks to its ultra-low carbon ambition, the ultra-low carbon noise barriers from COFIROUTE are a world first.

Fulfilling strict low carbon emissions requirements

GTA Group ordered steel posts from ArcelorMittal to fulfil VINCI Autoroutes’ strict low carbon emissions requirements. The posts were manufactured in ArcelorMittal’s Steligence® Fabrication Centre in Differdange with ArcelorMittal’s unique XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel. ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel has a very low carbon footprint as it is made from 100% recycled scrap in an electric arc furnace using 100% renewable electricity from solar and wind sources. The low global warming potential of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced is externally certified by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and at the French level by an FDES.

From the search for materials and partners to the design and implementation of this project, GTA Group coordinated this ultra-low carbon noise barrier - a world first.

“At GTA,” says Julien Feller, CEO GTA Group, “we are continuously looking for the latest decarbonised technical innovations. For this project requiring CO2 emissions to be as low as possible, we contacted ArcelorMittal’s Steligence® Fabrication Centre. We have been partnering with them on many projects for years already, and we knew they would support us once more. As soon as we presented XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel, we knew we had found the best solution to satisfy the requirements of our customer!”

Not only was the XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel the best solution in terms of environmental impact, but it was also an obvious decision to make in terms of transport: the producer’s fabrication centre is only 35 kms from GTA’s main site in Luxembourg.

Decarbonisation: a multi-material approach

The barriers were installed to protect residents from the noise pollution generated by the traffic on the A10 motorway between Tours and Poitiers. A 700-metre-long motorway section is now insulated with 173 four-metre-long, three-metre-high panels. This project has been designed to use the widest possible range of decarbonisation solutions. The structural side of the barriers has been designed with a very low carbon cement, while the acoustic side uses a very efficient wood concrete which keeps the sound wave inside.

The posts between the barriers are made of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel and were protected in one of GTA Group's workshops with a water-based paint free of volatile organic compounds (supplied by Hempel). The low carbon emissions steel for this project was complemented by Hoffman’s decarbonised cement solution proposed by Capremib.

As part of their ambitious 2030 environmental plan, VINCI Autoroutes is increasingly committed to decarbonising its motorways, and the A10 project is only one of many.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
ArcelorMittal Europe

Video:
VINCI Autoroutes