District heating network: The digging continues - new lines at Schlossbichl and in the city center

Created: 01/21/2022 10:02 am

By: Wolfgang Schörner

In Penzberg, work on new district heating lines will continue from spring.

© Wolfgang Schörner

In the next almost two years, there will be vigorous digging again on Penzberg's streets.

Among other things, the street “Am Schlossbichl” and parts of the city center are affected.

The main reason is the laying of district heating pipes.

Motorists must be prepared for closures.

The public utilities are investing several million euros.

Penzberg – In the fall of 2023, i.e. in just under two years, the Penzberger Stadtwerke want to put the energy center in the Layritzhalle into operation.

The local district heating network will then be supplied via the new biomass power plant.

However, a number of cables still have to be laid for this.

On the one hand, the Layritzhalle has to be connected to the existing network - this route leads along the Schlossbichl.

On the other hand, a gap in the city center needs to be closed in order to connect the two current district heating islands.

Some new canals and water pipes are also being laid in this context.

Penzberger Stadtwerke is investing several million euros

Stadtwerke board member André Behre explained the project to the Penzberg building committee this week.

According to him, the public utilities are investing a total of 7.2 million euros (district heating including sewerage and water pipes).

It should start in May or in the summer.

It will definitely last until autumn 2023, he said.

The work would be carried out in stages.

"We are trying to limit the traffic restrictions to what is necessary," said Behre.

Nevertheless, there could be full closures, for example in Philippstrasse and Sigmundstrasse.

In the city center, the district heating route, which currently ends at Philippstraße 6a, is routed via Sigmundstraße to Karlstraße and from there via Andreas-Höck-Weg to just before the Stadthalle, where the new line can dock with the existing southern district heating island.

That would close the gap.

District heating construction sites: The Stadtwerke graphic shows existing lines (dark blue) and planned district heating lines (light blue). In the next almost two years, these will be the route at Schlossbichl to the Layritzhalle in the Grube industrial park (light blue line to the right) and the closure of the gap in the city center from Philippstraße via Sigmundstraße in the direction of the Stadthalle. For the time being, the routes at the Mayor-Prandl School (below) and the dead-end route on Karlstrasse to the town hall will not be realised. © Source: Stadtwerke

Behre explained that extensive canal construction measures will also be carried out in this context.

This affects Sigmundstraße, the northern Philippstraße and part of Karlstraße.

The canal there is "in extremely poor condition," he said.

The sewer renewal would also be necessary independently of the district heating.

According to Behre, it is planned to implement the decoupling concept there for the first time.

This means that rainwater and street water is no longer fed into the sewage treatment plant, but first into a retention basin (still to be built) where it is cleaned, and then on into the Säubach.

Behre expects this to result in a "significant relief" for the sewage network and the sewage treatment plant.

District heating line via the Schlossbichl to the new energy center

The other major district heating stage concerns a new line from the existing network at the junction of Karlstrasse and Seeshaupter Strasse to the energy center in the Layritzhalle.

It will be relocated along the “Am Schlossbichl” road to the Grube industrial park.

At the same time, according to Behre, the water pipe – a main supply route for Steigenberg – will be renewed.

It is also in very bad condition and is currently still running under the passage of the former railway embankment along the Säubach.

Trees must be felled: "Slap in the face"

However, the Stadtwerke boss also announced in the building committee that trees would have to be felled both on the inner-city route and possibly on the Schlossbichl route. Looking at Sigmundstrasse and Philippstrasse, he explained that the work would be gentle on trees, but that this would be very difficult because of the limited workspace. Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU) explained that in all likelihood the row of trees on Philippstraße could be saved. On Sigmundstrasse, however, the trees on the southern side have to be felled. According to Korpan, there are plans to redesign Sigmundstrasse, for example with a cycle path, in order to create “visual added value”.

It is still unclear whether trees will be felled at Schlossbichl.

According to Andreas Wowra from the city's environmental protection department, at least 17 trees would have had to be felled after the original route planning.

By adjusting the route in the eastern area, however, all the trees could be preserved, in the western area two trees would have to give way.

Possibly, according to Wowra, the route could be moved a little further into the road body in order to save these two trees as well.

Sebastian Fügener (Greens) spoke at the meeting of a "slap in the face" if trees had to be felled due to "technical lack of alternatives".

It is important that they are replaced, which Hardi Lenk (SPD) also emphasized.

Stadtwerke boss Behre assured that.