Groß Börnecke. The regular bus stops here eight times on public holidays, ten times on school days and twice on Saturdays – after the summer, the bus stop by the village pond in Groß Börnecke will offer passengers on the KVG route 160 between Staßfurt and Egeln significantly improved comfort when boarding and alighting. The Salzlandkreis is upgrading the pair of bus stops, including the associated shelters, to make them accessible for the town of Hecklingen, to which Groß Börnecke belongs.
On Wednesday, a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony was held to mark the start of construction on Friedrich-Stengel-Straße. On site, Tilo Wechselberger, Head of the Salzlandkreis Department for District and Economic Development, welcomed not only the local mayor, Ethel-Maria Muschalle-Höllbach, but also representatives from the town of Hecklingen, the Salzland District Transport Authority and the contracted firms. The planning was carried out by the engineering firm Johannes Lübbers from Ermsleben, whilst the construction work is being carried out by Agens Baugesellschaft mbH from Hoym/Anhalt, managed by Jens Traunsberger.
“We are continuing to work together on our infrastructure for modern mobility. Public transport is particularly important in rural areas,” emphasises District Administrator Markus Bauer in this context. He says: “I am delighted that we have reached an agreement with the city on this matter. We are acting in the interests of both parties, for the benefit of our population and as a centre for residential, economic and scientific activity.”
Tilo Wechselberger explains that the work on the village pond stems from an agreement reached last year between the district and the town of Hecklingen to settle disputes over district levies. The Salzland district is upgrading a pair of bus stops in Groß Börnecke to current standards at its own expense. The town of Hecklingen decided on the exact location and will be responsible for ongoing maintenance once the work is complete, including, in this specific case, a small portion of the construction work outside the bus stop area.
On the basis of this agreement, the Salzlandkreis had put the planning services out to tender and coordinated this with the town of Hecklingen. The detailed design includes the accessible refurbishment of the bus stops to ensure safe bus arrivals and departures, as well as the refurbishment of the passenger shelters. Adaptation work in the vicinity of the bus stops will be limited to what is necessary for their use. The work is due to be completed by the end of September, by which time the passenger shelters will also have been delivered and erected. According to the tender results, the total cost of the project is around 200,000 euros, of which 5,000 will be borne by the town of Hecklingen.