January 2011
Connecting Kamień and Solec City, the £52 million bridge will replace a ferry service and dramatically reduce the distances people must travel to cross the country’s largest river. With the area’s two closest bridges 80km apart, the new crossing will serve as a catalyst for regional development and growth.
Halcrow’s Warsaw-based team will deliver the concept design and feasibility study, as well as preparing complete technical documentation for the construction of the bridge.
The 20m-wide bridge – one of the longest in Poland at 1,026m – will feature two vehicle lanes, emergency lanes, a pedestrian footway and a cycleway. Jointly funded by the European Union and the European Fund for Regional Development (Operational Programme Development of Eastern Poland), construction work on the project is due to begin towards the end of the year.
Halcrow’s project director Marc Glass commented:
“The award of this prestigious project is a major success for Halcrow’s team in Poland, given its technical challenges and high profile in the country. We have a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the development of the region, in addition to securing our position as a major player in the European transportation industry and in particular the bridge design market in Poland.”
The area’s difficult terrain represents a major challenge for the design team. The navigable river has unregulated banks with a number of spurs and longitudinal dams in poor condition. Water levels fluctuate between 6m and 12m, and ice up to 2m thick can form during winter. During the Second World War, the area’s previous bridge was irreparably damaged and replaced with a temporary military crossing. The remains of both structures pose a real danger during the construction of foundations for the new bridge.
The bridge design involves innovative techniques that have never been used in Poland, such as the application of thin concrete slabs on the steel deck to eliminate surface cracking, and in the bottom of the section just above the pillars.
Pillars in the river stream will be founded on bored piles, with the remaining pillars and both abutments on BSP piles. The bridge will be constructed using incrementally launched technology. Segments of steel box will be assembled on a designated site close to the abutment and continuously pushed out to the front.
Given its location in Natura 2000 – a network of environmentally protected areas within the European Union – the brief called for a bridge that complemented its surroundings, ruling out a spectacular, iconic design such as arched or suspended. Halcrow commissioned an artist to develop the shapes of the pillars and abutments, as well as the bridge’s colour scheme.