On 10 June, Minister of Transport Petra Berg – alongside Mayor of Völklingen Stephan Tautz and Director of the state road construction authority LfS Werner Nauerz – visited the compact road maintenance depot in Völklingen, where construction work began in November 2025. This new road maintenance depot is based on the future-oriented concept of a ‘single-site solution’ combining short channels, efficient workflows and high sustainability standards. Some 12 million euros are being invested in this new LfS outpost.
SHS subsidiary LEG Service is serving as the principal contractor responsible for bringing this future federal maintenance depot to fruition.
‘This new federal road maintenance depot in Fürstenhausen will be a modern building that represents a significant investment in road maintenance infrastructure’, said Petra Berg, Minister of the Environment, Climate Protection, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. ‘The building is state of the art and is setting a high bar for sustainability, carbon neutrality, climate protection and environmental conservation.’
To minimise road traffic disruptions and providing lasting improvements to efficiency, the Ministry of Transport and LfS have opted to build a new, compact maintenance depot on Kokereistraße in Völklingen. The site is right by the former Fürstenhausen coking plant, which is now being used as an industrial and commercial park. LfS acquired the site from the Terrag business group. Peter Gross Bau was commissioned to be the general contractor. The construction project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
LEG Service GmbH completed its first single-site solution in Saarland as principal contractor in 2019, bringing everything under one roof to construct a new road maintenance depot in Merzig. Völklingen is now gaining the second compact maintenance depot under the SHS subsidiary’s project management. Valentin Holzer, CEO of LEG Service, summed things up:
‘As principal contractor, LEG Service bears overall responsibility for planning, organising and executing works. The newly erected Völklingen road maintenance depot is state of the art and meets all the requirements of a modern, sustainable building. This demonstrates that our company is a reliable, capable partner for delivering extremely complex construction projects. We are delighted to be able to make another significant contribution to further developing Saarland’s transport infrastructure with this single-site solution in Völklingen.’
Nearly 1,000 tons of salt, vehicles, signage, washing bay, workshop and administration – all under one roof
There will no longer be any need to make trips between different facilities to load, repair or clean vehicles. LEG Service have implemented a modern concept for this future road maintenance depot in Völklingen, covering an area of some 17,000 m2 (total site 37,860 m2) – a compact solution bringing everything under one roof: two-storey administration building including social areas, attached vehicle hall with integrated workshop and warehouse, washing bay, signage storage and district heat connection. The wood-clad salt facility with integrated brine production is just a stone’s throw away.
So it is no surprise that the project was described in the prior feasibility study as a ‘compact solution for an environmentally friendly maintenance depot’.
Sustainable project
The forthcoming compact road maintenance depot in Völklingen is designed to be a sustainable, future-oriented building. Connection to the district heating grid means that heat will be supplied with emissions of 0 g CO₂/kWh. A rainwater cistern with a capacity of 200 m³ is being installed to enable resource-conserving water use. The rainwater collected will be used for brine collection and also to supply the washing bay.
A 99 kWp photovoltaic system offers an in-house power supply, supplemented by battery storage with a capacity of 25 kWh. To promote electromobility, initially seven dual charging points will be installed, each with a charging capacity of 2 × 11 kW. This system can be expanded if needed.
An energy-efficient lighting concept with modern LED technology significantly reduces electricity consumption. The KNX smart building control system enables needs-based control and monitoring of technical facilities. In addition, an extensive green roof on the administration building will help to improve the microclimate, retain rainwater, and enhance the site’s environment.
Background to road maintenance depots
Federal highway administration reforms mean that since 2021, federal motorways have been managed directly by the federal government rather than contracted out to individual states. The federal government alone is responsible for planning, constructing, operating, maintaining, financially administering and financing federal motorways. Since then, the LfS has been overseeing federal and state roads only. This means that what were formerly road and motorway maintenance depots have now become solely road maintenance depots.
Photo : Ann-Sophie Ruf/MUKMAV
