Since July, the building site is underway around the UN campus, the WCCB and the Deutsche Welle. For 2.9 Million Euro, the Dahlmannstraße will be renewed entirely, and the Kurt-Schumacher-Straße between Heussallee and the the entrance of the Deutsche Welle building will be renovated as well. Bright coloured tarmac and dark cobblestones with inserted pebbles will match the Heussalle and the United Nations square visually.

According to the design of the Scape architects from Düsseldorf and the engineers Lindschulte and Kloppe, pedestrians can stroll on a 4.20 Meter wide boulevard from the Deutsche Welle to the Post tower, while the pavement on the other side gets narrowed to 2.45 Meter. In addition, new LED lanterns will be lining the street.

„We are lucky that we are receiving financial support from the state for the climate conference“, says Oliver Neitzel, department manager for traffic facilities in Bonn. Approximately 90 per cent of the costs will be covered by the state.

Suddenly a massiv piece of rock blocks the workers’ way. „Working underground is always an adventure“, says construction supervisor Jürgen Roos. Despite exact plans of the canal and pipe system, the ground surprises again and again - especially in the former government district.

Those aren’t the only obstacles the planners had to overcome. At the beginning of August, there was polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon found in the tarmac, which isn’t permitted to be used anymore since the 1970s. Prior to the building works, there were exploration wells conducted, but in Bonn there are „very inhomogeneous road structures“, says Neitzel. In some places, the composition varies from one meter to the next. There is no danger for residents or workers though. The layer needs to be taken off and removed, to avoid the harmful substances being washed up in the rain.

Due to the limited building time, the works on both streets cause complete closures at times, also affecting the residents. They reacted „annoyed but understanding“, said Roos. The building company helps to bring out the rubbish bins. There is no way of getting through anyway now, as the Kurt-Schumacher-Straße is dug open, 80 centimeters deep.

The workers have laid down a grid canvas: The geotextile increases the tonnage capacity. Then a basalt gravel mix will be added, and only after that, the firm surfaces get added - three different kinds of tarmac with different granularity, getting finer with every layer to spread the weight of bus and truck traffic.

Also at the Dahlmannstraße, the works are fully underway by now. There is no sidewalk at the moment, pedestrians and residents need to share the road. But the green areas will be widened, five new trees will be planted and a round bench will be installed at the banks of the Rhine.

If all goes to plan, everything will be finished by November, so that the climate conference visitors can stroll along the new square.

(Original text: Sabrina Bauer, Translation: Mareike Graepel)