Schematic map marking Kassel, beside a tablet, white hard hat, pen and notebook.

Explosive ordnance surveying in the Kassel administrative district

For route projects in the Kassel administrative district, planning consultancies, project owners and infrastructure operators need an investigation brief covering the ground works actually proposed. A route option shows a possible alignment; explosive ordnance assessment concerns trenches, foundations, connections and additional construction areas. FONTANA-EOD helps assess the existing findings and carries out the agreed investigation. Send the overview plan, detailed plans with depths, and existing statements with their reports.

Distinguish route options

Keep rejected options distinct from the plans being pursued.

Identify construction areas

Describe permanent and temporary ground works.

Assign results

Assign investigations to the section actually completed.

Enquire about a projectExplosive ordnance assessment in Hesse
Assess the construction project

How is a route described for explosive ordnance assessment?

The enquiry shows the chosen alignment and the individual trenches, foundations and additional construction areas with their depths. Existing findings are assigned by section. Unresolved options remain identifiable. The specialist investigation in the Kassel administrative district is tailored to these specific ground works and their actual conditions.

Documented location references

Reference projects in the Kassel administrative district

Select a project location on the map or in the location list. The associated entries lead to the protected reference overview.

6 locations · 8 assigned reference entries

Reference projects in the Kassel administrative districtGeographical outline with confirmed location references from the project records. No precise ordnance find or site coordinates. Baunatal – 2 reference entriesKassel – 3 reference entriesBöhne – 1 reference entryBergheim – 1 reference entryFlieden – 1 reference entryBebra – 1 reference entry

The points indicate the locations associated with documented references, not exact find or construction site coordinates. Several entries may relate to one project. References without a reliable location are available in the complete reference overview.

Map sources: © BKG (2026), VG250 / GN250, Data licence Germany – attribution 2.0. Area outline projected for display. Selection and project assignment: FONTANA-EOD.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Identifying the administrative district and actual project location

Schematic map with a coat of arms and state colours, alongside a tablet, safety helmet, pen and notebook.

Deriving the next planning step from the route plans

The Gelnhausen–Kalbach notice of August 2023 describes the spatial planning assessment as the basis for further planning and approval. For a specific construction project, the ground works actually proposed are developed from this with their own location and depth details. Existing explosive ordnance records are assigned to these areas and assessed for the findings they can support.

The Kassel administrative district in Hessen, Germany, comprises the independent city of Kassel and the districts of Kassel, Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder, Waldeck-Frankenberg and Werra-Meißner. Identify the actual municipality for every affected section. The administrative region provides the spatial context; the explosive ordnance clearance service at the Darmstadt regional administration is responsible throughout Hessen. Other local responsibilities and the access required are coordinated at the specific project location.

Information on explosive ordnance surveying in Fulda supports preparation of your project enquiry. Documents and planned ground disturbance on the respective property are decisive.

Hesse
Local context

Relating route planning to specific ground works

Understanding regional planning as a spatial framework

Regional planning at the Kassel regional administration addresses wider-area uses and development, including transport and energy infrastructure. Its plans and procedures establish a spatial framework. They do not establish which particular parts of the ground have already been investigated for explosive ordnance.

Gelnhausen–Kalbach: assessment of route options at the time

An official example of this planning level is the notice on the Gelnhausen–Kalbach spatial planning procedure dated 14 August 2023. It assesses route options and describes the state planning assessment as the basis for further planning and approval stages. The report concerns this project and its procedural status at the time; it does not provide investigation results for other routes.

As a regional historical example, the City of Kassel documents the severe destruction caused by the air raid of 22 October 1943. This specific city history forms part of the differing historical conditions across northern Hessen. For a route section, available historical findings are related to its actual location. Known later construction, fill or excavation is reported. For other construction locations, the relevant local findings are assessed separately.

Defining the specific technical task

Explosive ordnance matters are assessed for the respective project. In the Kassel administrative district too, Hessen’s explosive ordnance clearance service, based at the Darmstadt regional administration, is the statewide specialist body. A commissioned technical investigation must relate to the proposed areas and depths, not merely to a broad corridor.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The project owner describes the proposed work and provides the available project documents. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact makes cooperation easier but does not automatically take on every other party's duties. Before commissioning, record clearly which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the result is intended to support.

Planning and construction management

The specialist designers describe areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the planned sequence with the construction contractors and agreed specialist works. Results are assigned to the respective intervention. A technical plan change is communicated early enough for its effect on the survey task to be assessed before construction. Organisational construction stage boundaries remain distinguishable from technical survey boundaries.

Specialist company and competent bodies

The private explosive ordnance specialist carries out the agreed investigation and documentation. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the competent bodies. Documents needed for a specific procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report describes the specialist work completed with its spatial extent and limits. Its applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific ground disturbance. The competent bodies make official decisions.

The KMRD based at Darmstadt Regional Council is responsible for all of Hesse. Suitable specialist contractors are commissioned for technical investigation or clearance within the respective permit and competence framework. Under Hesse's General Provisions, defusing, blasting and removal are reserved exclusively to the KMRD or a person commissioned by it. Assign the competent authorities and responsible specialists clearly before the task concerned.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Tailoring the method to each part of the task

The findings needed are established for the specific ground works. A trench may have different requirements from an individual foundation or a connection to an existing structure. Specialist planners consider existing findings and local conditions. A shared project name does not automatically establish a single technical approach for all sections.

Comparing suitable specialist services for each task

Defining a separate task for areas with limitations

Utilities, installations and lack of access may limit the work. These limitations are documented with clear spatial references. The next steps are agreed for the planned ground works. Simply observing excavation does not replace a required investigation; the type and scope of any supplementary specialist service are determined separately.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Recording each ground works activity along the route clearly

Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Showing the route together with individual tasks

An overview plan shows the route in context. Detailed plans describe trenches, crossings and foundation areas with their respective dimensions. These specific ground works define the technical task. A single line is insufficient, particularly where additional connection areas or temporary ground works are required outside the corridor shown.

Chainage, coordinates and detailed plan numbers can be used together for individual ground works. They are assigned so that a report can still be related to the correct section later. Moving between the overview and detailed plan must remain traceable. The structure’s centreline is distinguished from the working areas actually occupied. Additional pits or connections receive their own location and depth references so that the investigation task is sufficiently defined before construction.

Compare specialist services
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Assigning existing results by section

An investigation report is assigned to the relevant section with its spatial coverage and documented limitations. The current plans are compared against it. Remaining questions are identified. A completed section thus provides a usable basis without extending its findings to adjoining areas not yet covered or to other depths.

For a longer route, preparation may bring together several reports and stages of work. Identify the associated appendices, investigated ground volumes and outstanding limitations for each section. A results plan is read together with the technical assessment. If the vertical reference or excavation geometry changes, the affected ground volume is compared with the investigation status at the time. A shared route name does not extend the technical findings of an individual report.

Document findings and their limitations
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Coordinating preparation and execution

Access, construction stages and technical prerequisites are discussed before work begins. Areas not yet accessible remain identified as separate tasks. The next steps have a defined scope. Assumed timings are distinguished from prerequisites already confirmed, so that a section is not considered ready for work merely because of its scheduled date.

For contracts awarded by section, the records and prerequisites actually available are provided. If access will be established later, the outstanding specialist task receives its own schedule. Necessary investigations and protective measures are clarified before the preparatory ground works they concern. Results handover is agreed so that planners and site management can check the status before the next construction stage. Missing prerequisites are explicitly identified when commissioning.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

Before commissioning, identify which decision is to be prepared for which section. Route option planning may initially need a spatial comparison; a technical investigation brief requires sufficiently defined areas and depths. Existing statements and results are assigned with their respective scope. The offer describes the specialist task actually required and the expected results documentation. Unresolved alignments remain distinct from work areas already defined.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Preparatory work is agreed for the respective section. An openly accessible site may have different requirements from a connection to existing infrastructure or an area initially closed off. Report utilities, installations and known access restrictions. Necessary investigations and protective measures are clarified before the preparatory ground works they concern. The client and specialist contractor determine who will establish the outstanding prerequisites and when the actual work can take place.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

The programme records each section’s confirmed prerequisites separately from matters still being coordinated. A planned date alone does not make an area available. The assessment and results documentation needed for the next construction stage are identified. If a route option changes, planners and site management receive the new version. Any necessary supplementary work is agreed with its actual scope and prerequisites.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Prepare the construction project

Which areas your project actually needs

01

Showing the alignment being pursued

Identify the authoritative option and plan version. Older alternatives may help explain the context, but must not accidentally appear as the current investigation area. Where options remain open, it should be clear which decision initially requires documentation.

02

Dividing the ground works along the route

A utility, crossing and foundation area may have different dimensions and depths. Describe these tasks separately. A single line drawing does not represent every ground works activity that construction and connection of the infrastructure may require.

Where needed, detailed plans also show retaining structures, auxiliary pits and transitions to other infrastructure. A section drawing can clarify the relationship between ground level, planned depth and an adjoining structural element. Report known changes since older investigations. Uncertain information is recorded as outstanding. The subsequently commissioned investigation scope is related to this actual geometry and documented together with the existing results.

03

Adding temporary work

Also identify proposed ground works for site facilities, access roads or temporary structures where these disturb the ground. The activity matters, rather than how long the area will later be used. Mere use of an area should remain distinct from actual ground disturbance in the enquiry.

04

Recording connections to existing infrastructure

Connections may lie outside the route corridor originally drawn. Include these areas with their proposed depths. Existing reports are checked to establish whether they actually cover the connection; the same infrastructure name alone is not evidence of this.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Listing associated tasks that disturb the ground

Site facilities and temporary structures may require ground works of their own. Describe their locations and depths where proposed. Mere use of an area remains distinct from ground disturbance. Specialist planners can then assess which additional areas need to be included in the investigation or further coordination.

Record whether a temporary area is intended solely for use or will also require excavation, foundations or utility construction. Even after a change to the site programme, this distinction is passed on with the current plan version. The responsible parties clarify which technical prerequisites are needed before the new ground works. Later removal of the temporary infrastructure is also described with its proposed ground works.

Documenting transitions between sections

Connection points are described by their precise location and associated task. Results reports for adjoining sections remain available. Comparison shows whether their scope covers the transition or leaves a gap. Being part of the same infrastructure does not replace this spatial and technical assessment. After exposure or clearance work actually completed, the associated findings and clearance records, with location and depth references, belong in the project file.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Identifying the outstanding decision during route option planning

Describe which alignments remain under consideration and which decision is to be prepared. Existing records are assigned to the options. For a technical brief, the affected areas are sufficiently defined. Early coordination helps obtain specific missing details and clearly define the next specialist step.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Checking the current alignment before construction

Provide the authoritative option with the detailed ground works plans. Highlight changes from the existing evidence. Specialist planners assess their significance for the investigation scope. Existing results that fit remain included; added areas receive a clearly defined investigation need of their own.

Coordinate the construction phase with us
Method selection

Select methods according to the task and survey conditions

Historical records and aerial photographs

Historical records and aerial photographs provide the basis for assessing former uses and wartime impacts. Along a route, existing findings are assigned to their respective sections. Where historical questions remain unresolved, the necessary research or aerial photograph analysis is commissioned and actually carried out. Additional indications are related spatially to today’s ground works. Findings for one section retain their limitations; the appropriate evidence for another alignment is assessed separately.

Understand aerial photograph assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetometry measures the magnetic field passively. Detection depends on the magnetic effect of the object sought; electrical conductivity alone does not make it detectable by this method. Interfering installations and accessible survey areas are considered for each route section. Professional interpretation relates anomalies to the investigation objective and actual conditions. A suitable application in open ground is assessed separately against the task at a built-up crossing or a connection to existing infrastructure.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Transient electromagnetic methods, or TDEM, analyse the time-dependent electromagnetic response of conductive objects. The method is selected according to the investigation objective and actual survey conditions. Existing utilities, metal installations and other sources of interference are considered for each route section. Recorded signals receive their spatial reference and a professional assessment. The report identifies the area covered and the limitations to consider when using the result for the proposed ground works.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about the subsurface and anomalies. Ground composition, installations and the investigation objective determine its appropriate use. Along a route, these conditions are considered for the different sections. A detected structure is interpreted and considered alongside the other findings. The agreed investigation scope is carried out and documented; the result describes what was actually established and its limitations for the forthcoming ground works.

GPR and limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper foundations or other deep ground works, a specialist assessment establishes whether a surface investigation can provide the findings needed or whether deep or borehole surveying is required. Points, depths and vertical references are coordinated with the detailed plans. Borehole clearance or the technical evidence remains tied to the ground volume actually investigated and the limits of its findings. If the location or depth changes, the new volume is compared with the previous scope before the affected ground works.

Prepare deep interventions

Survey during construction

If a necessary preliminary investigation cannot be completed in full, the subsequent programme for the affected section is planned with specialist input. An explosive ordnance investigation during construction may require a coordinated sequence of investigation, necessary excavation in layers, specialist exposure and supplementary surveys. The approach depends on the task and findings. Areas covered and remaining limitations are documented. Merely observing excavation is not treated as a substitute for a required technical investigation.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Coordinating the investigation with the planning stage

Assessing findings for each section

Existing statements and reports are assigned to the affected areas. Outstanding information remains visible for sections not yet defined. The project process can organise the sequence of work; it does not replace specialist assessment of the investigation task required for each ground works activity.

Selecting methods for the conditions

For surveying the investigation objective, utilities, metal installations and accessible area are among the factors. A method suitable for an openly accessible section cannot be applied to a built-up connection area without assessment. Possible limitations belong in the planning.

Clarifying the next steps for inaccessible areas

If an area is initially inaccessible, further steps are agreed with specialist input. Whether a later investigation or ordnance surveying during construction is suitable depends on the specific ground works. Merely observing excavation is not a substitute for a required technical investigation. Where the specialist assessment identifies the need, area clearance, recovery tasks and associated documentation are agreed in the clearance plan with their spatial scope and responsible parties. Findings and limitations remain traceable in the clearance record.

Next steps

From route enquiry to documented specialist work

01

Include the overview and detailed plans

Show the route in context and the individual ground works in sufficient detail. Identify each plan version. The initial discussion establishes the project locations and findings needed. Existing plans, statements and reports are checked for currency, spatial reference, completeness and gaps.

02

Address outstanding historical questions

Where historical questions remain unresolved, the necessary research and aerial photograph evaluations are actually carried out under a technically agreed commission. The KMRD statement is taken into account. Additional findings are assigned to the current groundworks area and used for investigation planning.

03

Add depths and associated work

Identify trenches, foundations, connections and temporary ground works. Missing dimensions remain identifiable as unresolved questions.

04

Assign existing assessments

Assign official statements and technical reports to the relevant sections. Also provide the associated plans.

05

Agree the work stages

We clarify with you the technical scope of the requested service and the prerequisites for carrying it out. Later changes are compared separately. The suitable method is selected according to the investigation objective, ground works depth, ground composition, existing utilities, installations and actual survey conditions. Necessary access, preparatory work and protective measures are clarified with the responsible parties before the affected ground works.

06

Perform the agreed investigation

The agreed survey or appropriate investigation during construction is carried out on the defined areas and points. Measurement data and observations receive clear position and elevation references. Uninvestigated areas, restricted access and relevant interference are recorded.

07

Assess and document findings

The data and findings collected are interpreted professionally against the investigation objective and actual survey conditions. The assessment takes interference and limitations into account. The report and associated plans document the technical assessment, areas covered and their location, elevation and depth references. Necessary further tasks for the next ground works are identified and agreed with the responsible parties.

Documentation

Checking area coverage after a route option changes

Findings and their scope

If the route moves, some previously investigated areas may still be needed while others are added. The comparison should show precisely these differences. Only then can the assessment establish which existing results can be used and where further clarification is needed. Merely changing an option number does not answer that question.

Project responsibilities

At handover to site management, the results plan, investigation scope and forthcoming ground works must match. Temporary construction areas must be as traceable as the permanent infrastructure. Local information on Kassel and Fulda supplements the wider route planning; it does not establish a general investigation finding for the region.

Hessen’s general provisions specify site plans at a scale of 1:1,000 and handover of results to the explosive ordnance clearance service. The specialist brief, work status and authoritative plan version remain available together in the project file. Supplementary reports are clearly assigned by section and date.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

FONTANA-EOD relates the agreed specialist service to the specifically identified sections and ground works. The overview and detailed plans together form the spatial basis. The results documentation identifies the scope actually completed and its limitations. The status of each section remains distinct from outstanding tasks. Site management and specialist planners compare this information with the next proposed ground works and agree the additions actually needed.

Discuss the investigation task

The task before the equipment

Method selection follows the question raised by each ground works activity. A foundation may have different requirements from a utility trench or a connection to existing infrastructure. Existing findings and the conclusions needed are clarified first. Suitable use, survey conditions and the expected form of results are then agreed. A shared project title thus leads to clearly defined individual tasks; differing local conditions are accounted for in the technical planning.

Keep limitations visible

Inaccessible areas or those with limited survey interpretation remain spatially identifiable in the project status. A section that becomes accessible later is compared with the existing reports and current plans. Before its ground works, the additional information or specialist work needed is clarified. Completed investigations remain available with their actual scope. A combined route overview thus shows both usable results and transitions still requiring work.

Clarify changes before intervening in the ground

When a route option changes, ground volumes still needed and newly added are shown separately. FONTANA-EOD compares the revised task with the previous specialist scope. Results that fit remain included; additional areas or depths are agreed separately. The earlier assessment retains its original reference. New findings are assigned to a plan version and section so that construction can be prepared using the same traceable record.

Hand over the report and plan together

Reports and associated plans are handed over together for the affected sections. Recipients among the client, specialist planners and site management receive the completed scope, limitations and outstanding tasks. Where there are several construction lots, transitions between results are also clearly assigned. A change of contractors is supported by complete records. For the next ground works, it therefore remains clear which evidence applies to which activity.

Understand the results

Use technical statements for the next decision

Temporary use does not establish ground works depth

Infrastructure needed only temporarily may still require foundations or other ground works. Describe the specific construction. The explosive ordnance findings needed are determined from that activity and the existing knowledge. The future duration of site use replaces neither the site plan nor the depth information.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

A change of route option requires spatial comparison

Part of the previous route may remain while other areas are added. Show both parts clearly. Existing results are assigned with their actual limits. Only this comparison shows which findings can be reused and where the new plans need further clarification.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

Illustration: aerial photographs and maps on two screens and printed on a desk.

Historical evidence and the current design

Aerial photograph interpretation is related to the actual groundworks. Its purpose and geographical scope remain distinct from a technical investigation of the ground as it is today.

Understand aerial photograph assessment
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Specialist reports for site management

The findings, their locations and limitations are handed over together. This makes clear to those carrying out the work which area has been investigated and which task remains outstanding.

Assess investigation reports
Four people in orange high-visibility vests in front of two excavators on a construction site.
Person with a yellow survey cart on a footpath in front of a hedge.
Questions from planning

Questions about routes and infrastructure in northern Hessen

Has a corridor assessed through spatial planning already been investigated for explosive ordnance?

That cannot be inferred from the spatial planning assessment alone. It serves a different planning purpose. The explosive ordnance findings actually available and the spatial and technical scope of any completed investigations are decisive.

Should all route options be included in the enquiry at the same time?

Describe the decision to be made and the options still being pursued. A technical investigation brief requires sufficiently defined areas and ground works. Whether individual options should be investigated, and to what extent, is clarified professionally.

Does explosive ordnance assessment concern only permanently used areas?

No. Temporary work may also require ground disturbance. Identify, for example, planned pits or foundations for temporary structures. Whether investigation is necessary depends on the findings and specific ground works, not solely on the later duration of use.

Who is responsible for official explosive ordnance enquiries in northern Hessen?

Hessen’s explosive ordnance clearance service is based at the Darmstadt regional administration and is responsible statewide. This is distinct from the Kassel regional administration’s regional planning responsibilities. For the official enquiry, the site location is marked and the required documents are compiled.

Can results be reused after a route moves?

This is assessed from the areas and depths actually investigated and the documented limitations. Results are usable where their scope covers the new ground works. Added areas or those affected differently require separate clarification.

Which additional areas belong in the enquiry?

All proposed additional areas involving actual ground disturbance, for example for temporary structures or connections. Describe their location, construction and depths.

Which cost factors matter for a route investigation?

The work involved depends on usable existing records, the areas and depths or investigation points actually affected, access and preparatory work, suitable methods, survey conditions, interpretation and documentation. Differences between sections and unresolved options are accounted for in the scope of services. Additional areas or changed ground works are agreed specifically. Private specialist services, official responsibilities and other preparatory services remain distinct.

What should I do if I find possible ordnance?

If possible explosive ordnance is found, stop the affected work immediately. Leave the object untouched, keep your distance and warn others without endangering yourself. Notify the police immediately on 110 and follow their instructions. Do not attempt to investigate or recover the item yourself. Do not move it, expose it further or take it to a police station or other official premises. Leave the danger area and keep others away.

Project enquiry

Prepare explosive ordnance assessment of your route

Show the route and details

Provide the authoritative option, ground works and depths together.

Add the project addresses or municipalities, land parcels or section references, and marked site plans. Identify the option being pursued and the outstanding decision. Include existing statements, complete reports and associated plans. Describe trenches, foundations, routes, borehole positions and ground works depths. Existing aerial photograph analyses, utility plans, conditions and known ground changes form part of the initial information. Missing details remain identifiable for further clarification.

Add associated work

Mark connections and temporary ground works separately.

Identify the client, specialist planners, site management and coordinating contact, together with the current project status. State the desired schedule and construction lots needed first. Mark access not yet available and additional working areas. For successive sections, record who will provide new plan versions and pass on results with outstanding tasks. Also identify the decision required for the next construction stage so that the specialist service needed can be agreed specifically.

GPR on a construction site
Project enquiry

Have your project assessed

Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.

FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.

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