Gemini Terrain The Obvious Choice For Norway's Largest Ever Road Project
A new road system with a total of 9.4 kilometres of four-lane motorway and a number of tunnels and suspension bridges is becoming a reality in Norway's largest road project to date - the mainland connection “Sotra Link” between Sotra and Bergen. As software for merging all drawings, quantities and other information from various subcontractors and partners in the project, Gemini Terrain+ was the obvious choice.
Currently, the mainland connection between Bergen and Sotra, Norwegian National Road 555, is not dimensioned for all the daily traffic that uses this stretch of road. With the new road system, the travel time between Bergen and Sotra will be reduced by approximately 20 minutes. In addition, there will be greater opportunities to walk, cycle or use public transport. In other words, Sotra Link is both a long-awaited and very extensive road project, with a contract price of just over NOK 23 billion. On June 1, 2027, the entire project - the road system, the tunnels and the bridges, of which the new Sotra Bridge is the best known - will be ready for use. The contract is shared between several major actors such as; Macquire, SK Ekoplant, Webuild, FCC Construction and Intertoll, in addition to the involvement of a large number of subcontractors. The joint venture company Sotra Link Construction has been formed specifically to build Sotra Link and coordinate all areas of the project. To help facilitate this work, the company has chosen to use Gemini Terrain+.
- A major focus is placed on the environment and sustainability in the project, for example through certification and strict environmental requirements for both collaboration partners and subcontractors. Among other things, the recycling of materials is very important to us, says Gunn Eklund Breisnes, Head of Communications for the project.
"We use well-established routines in Gemini to get a clear overview of the large data sets and to be able to implement the project over the five years."
Sigurd Hegland Sognnæs
Quantity Surveyor Manager, Sotra Link
Industry standard for many contractors
When it comes to coordinating the reuse of materials, Gemini Terrain plays an important role. For example, by gaining control over the quantities and seeing what can be reused.
Sigurd Hegland Sognnæs is Quantity Surveyor Manager for Sotra Link with responsibility for all quantity surveying administration in the project. His focus is mostly on managing the subcontractors' quantities and since Gemini is the market leader and is the industry standard for many of the contractors, the choice of Gemini Terrain fell for the Sotra Link project was an obvious one.
- It is very important to us that the smaller contractors, with their specific environments and software, can participate in this project, which places a demand on us that we must be able to handle all the different formats used by various subcontractors. We get models and drawings from both Norwegian and foreign consultants, which must be added to a single platform, a platform that must be able to understand and handle all this data. That is why we have chosen Gemini, in order that we can achieve this in practice, says Sigurd Hegland Sognnæs. Thanks to Gemini Terrain, everyone in the project can stay up to date on the status of model revisions and receive accurate, up-to-date data at all times. You can also use 3D models to visualise the project.
- Another advantage of Gemini is that as an experienced user, I can already see how things will look in the end when the entire project is completed. We use well-established routines in Gemini to get a clear overview of the large data sets and to be able to implement the project over the five years.
Everything integrated on the same platform
There is a huge amount of data and information going through the software and one of the biggest challenges in the project is processing the data from different companies that use different software and platforms. One of the benefits that Sotra Link Construction sees with Gemini Terrainis that it can integrate everything into a single platform and generate stakeout data to meet existing construction requirements.
- Gemini has many and extensive options for importing and exporting different formats, which is very useful in large projects, says Juan Carlos Cubillo, Survey Manager at Sotra Link Construction.
He thinks that the biggest advantage of Gemini Terraincompared to similar software on the market is that there is a library of templates that can be used in different areas of the project. He also appreciates the direct connection to public platforms for the delivery and downloading of cartography and survey data.
Juan Carlos was familiar with Gemini Terrain before he started working on the Sotra Link project, but it is the first project he has worked on where Gemini Terrain is the reference platform. He thinks it was easy to learn and familiarise himself with the software thanks to the user manuals. Juan Carlos also appreciates the assistance from Volue's support.
- That is one of Volue's strengths, they always respond quickly and provide personal support. It helps us deal with difficulties and problems as they arise so that we can quickly move on with the project.
"We at Volue are very proud to be part of Norway's largest road project and together we are building the way to a better future."
Marcus Davidsson
Account Executive, Volue
A good working relationship
Marcus Davidsson, Account Executive at Volue, who is the account manager for FCC Construction and Sotra Link, emphasises the importance of being accessible to the user and having a good working relationship with Juan Carlos in the Sotra Link project.
- Feedback and requests from the customer give us insight and understanding of their ongoing challenges and new trends in the market in a way that we otherwise would not get. We at Volue are very proud to be part of Norway's largest road project and together we are building the way to a better future, concludes Marcus.
