Skip to main content

Peri has Polish bridge covered

A new bridge is being constructed across the Vistula River near Grudzi?dz, Poland, and for the foreland bridge from south-east direction, a so-called incremental launching method is being used. Two lanes, each some 556m long, are being constructed in 25 concreting cycles with standard lengths of 24m, while the formwork is 25m long and is positioned behind the bridge abutments.
February 6, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
A new bridge is being constructed across the Vistula River near Grudzi?dz, Poland, and for the foreland bridge from south-east direction, a so-called incremental launching method is being used.

Two lanes, each some 556m long, are being constructed in 25 concreting cycles with standard lengths of 24m, while the formwork is 25m long and is positioned behind the bridge abutments.

The individual sections of the superstructure are concreted directly together here and connected by means of tensioning cables. Subsequently, the hardened bridge section is raised a few millimetres and moved forward together with the other finished segments by one cycle length in the direction of the bridge's longitudinal axis.

Prefabrication of the individual repetitive bridge sections is being carried out with a stationary formwork, and a temporary protection roof, based on the 298 PERI UP modular scaffold, spans the working area and allows weather-independent construction of the individual sections for the superstructure.

According to the German formwork manufacturer this is one of the factors that allowed the 2296 Skanska-1547 NDI Joint Venture to reduce the construction period by three months.

For concreting work on the hollow box profile, a construction time of a year was originally planned, and as work started in November 2009, minimum temperatures of up to -25°C were expected during the winter.

To cater for the weather, the contractor planned the temporary protection roof for the construction phase: the possibility of renting the LGS (lattice girder system) protection roof for the period of use provided an economical solution.

Altogether, the jobsite team is using four roof structures: two smaller, permanently installed tents are used for reinforcement work preparations, while two movable protection roofs on basis of the LGS span the formwork and concreting areas.

To ensure unhindered material and concrete installation, the design allows the protection roofs to be moved. The girder supports are equipped with 55.5m long rails, which are over twice as long as the protection roofs and which are easily moved by two to four people. The wheel allows the roofs to be moved in a longitudinal direction.

"At the level of the girder, the static system of a single-span beam with one stationary and one movable support can be realised without any problems by means of system components," says PERI.

The spatial arrangement of the two sets of incremental launching equipment gave the position for the weather protection roofs: the available space between the formwork for both lanes was very limited. Load transfer of the support construction of both weather protection roofs had to be guaranteed via a common central support.

"With Keder track and sheeting, the scaffold constructions result in very light and translucent roofs. The solution in Grudzi?dz also includes a side and gable covering. "Overlapping of the sheeting at all joints ensures a tightly-fitting enclosure which at the same time can easily be opened. With extremely low outside temperatures, the temporary tents were also heated.

"An additional positive effect of the enclosure is the consistently high concrete quality achieved throughout due to the constantly good setting process."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Improving a key route through Florida
    November 9, 2015
    Upgrading a key route through Florida – novel construction techniques are helping widen a road in difficult geological conditions – Lucio Garofalo reports. A major road widening project underway in Florida is due for completion soon. The work will improve an important section of road, reducing congestion at peak period and cutting travel times for drivers. The US 331/SR83 highway runs for some 79km and provides an important link in Florida’s Panhandle area, as it connects with Route 98.
  • Act FAST when it comes to bridge maintenance, argues Cliff Weston
    February 27, 2017
    Deck waterproofing remains critical to a bridge’s structural integrity for its design life, explains Cliff Weston, director of Stirling Lloyd To properly maintain deck waterproofing there must be a willingness to look at solutions based on whole-life costing rather than just short-term initial costs. There are lessons to be learned from examples of prematurely failed infrastructure due to a focus on initial short-term costs.
  • Major Central American infrastructure projects
    February 23, 2012
    Mexico and Central America are home to some of the world's most spectacular infrastructure projects as Patrick Smith reports
  • Sunderland’s New Wear Crossing takes shape
    February 16, 2017
    The New Wear Crossing will be the first bridge to be built over the River Wear in Sunderland, UK, for more than 40 years Raising the bridge’s 100m-tall pylon promised to be a stunning visual sight, but also a tricky operation dictated by extremely variable local weather. World Highways went to press just before the operation, but not before the pylon had arrived by barge on January 7. It had completed a two-day crossing of the often unpredictable North Sea from the Belgian port of Ghent where it was f