The bridge over the Skawa River, with a length of 242.95 m, is one of the essential structures of the Zembrzyce road bypass. The structure design aimed at respecting and adapting to the mountainous landscape.
The characteristics of the surroundings and the risk of sudden water rises determined a suspension bridge project of a single pylon. The deck of beams and slabs was suspended by steel cables arranged in a fan-like shape.
This bridge was made using pre-stressed concrete without supports in the riverbed. This required a 105 m span, one of the longest built in Poland with this technology.
Reinforced concrete buttresses were built at both ends of the bridge, along with two monolithic concrete columns and the mentioned pylon on which the structure´s cables were fixed.
The pylon, with a height of 50.95 m, consists of two asymmetrical piers that emerge from the foundations (two concrete stringers of 1.20 m diameter
and 8 m height) and are connected by 3 beams.
The working platforms used allowed completing the various casting steps without taking the formwork down to the ground for cleaning. The climbing brackets were equipped with roll-back carriages that placed the formwork 70 cm from the wall, enabling to perform the maintenance tasks. All systems included the necessary safety measures for workers protection.
