Skip to main content

Helsinki approves the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat - project

Helsinki City Council has approved construction of the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat – Project, that at 3km will be the longest bridge in Finland. The bridge will carry pedestrians, cyclists and trams between the city centre and the 143 hectare Kruunuvuorenranta development to the east which will have over 580,000m² of residential space and 6,000 housing units. The centrepiece of the €259 million scheme, as designed by WSP Finland and Knight Architects, will be the 1.2km span crossing of the main bay,
September 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Finland’s longest, the Kruunusillat bridge project
Helsinki City Council has approved construction of the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat – Project, that at 3km will be the longest bridge in Finland.

The bridge will carry pedestrians, cyclists and trams between the city centre and the 143 hectare Kruunuvuorenranta development to the east which will have over 580,000m² of residential space and 6,000 housing units.

The centrepiece of the €259 million scheme, as designed by WSP Finland and Knight Architects, will be the 1.2km span crossing of the main bay, named the Kruunuvuorensilta. The central 135m pylon of the symmetrical cable-stayed design is a tall slender diamond, with multi-faceted surfaces designed to catch light and shadow both by day and night.

WSP has said that the “design is based on a 200-year lifetime” despite being located “in an aggressive marine environment”. The three-dimensional diamond shaped tower is highlighted with facade lighting that changes on festive days. Lights on tramways and bicycle and pedestrian lanes will create an iconic shape on the horizon.

The centre of the bridge consists of two 260m-long cable-stayed main spans supported by a single pylon. The approach spans is a continuous composite girder bridge.

“It will extend Helsinki’s excellent public-transport system, significantly reduce journey times, and create a critical link to new developments. This will be a high-quality, lasting piece of infrastructure, which will be instantly recognisable and synonymous with Helsinki,” said Tom Osborne, project architect.

The project will now enter the detailed design phase, with construction due to start on site in autumn 2018. The tramway is due to be opened to the public in 2025.

Related Content

  • Mersey Gateway Bridge has won IABSE’s Outstanding Structure Award
    September 19, 2019
    The UK’s Mersey Gateway Bridge has picked up the Outstanding Structure Award 2019 from IABSE, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering* Judges described the bridge, designed by Cowi, as "an elegantly integrated solution for a multi-span concrete cable stay bridge in which form follows function". "Everyone involved with the design and construction the Mersey Gateway Bridge over the past six years knows that this is an incredibly special structure,” said Paul Sanders, Cowi’s p
  • Innovative formwork beats bridge design challenges
    February 14, 2012
    Companies are coming up with innovative formwork solutions to overcome "challenging" designs for bridges. Patrick Smith reports
  • Zhejiang Jiashao Bridge Investment & Development Co
    April 6, 2017
    Located in Zhejiang Province of China, Jiashao Bridge spans the Qiantang River and connects the cities of Jiaxing and Shaoxing. The total length of the bridge project is 10.14km and carries an eight-lane expressway The Qiantang River suffers from a high flow rate of up to 7.5m/s. As the tidal range is around 7-9m, the water depth is less than 2m in time of low level tide, so ships can only move at high tide and large scale ship-lifting equipment cannot be used downstream of Jiashao Bridge. However, to
  • Award winning bridge a' masterpiece of architecture'
    April 10, 2012
    Mega project of “extreme beauty” receives top award from the IRF, writes Patrick Smith.The Sheikh Zayed Bridge, which was constructed for the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, has won the Global Road Achievement Award in the design category from the International Road Federation (IRF). The 2011 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) programme is a worldwide contest held to identify and honour excellence, innovation and exceptional achievements in 12 key categories in the transport and infrastructure industry.