On fast form

Keeping the Construction of the Seidewitztal Bridge on the New A17 Motorway between Dresden, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic on track was key to the success of the whole scheme. Completion of the technically challenging span by main contractor Züblin will allow the German section of the motorway to be opened to traffic later this year.

The bridge's 568 m long steel composite carriageway rests on eight pairs of piers and features twin arches with spans of 154 m and a clear height of 55 m. Züblin worked with formwork specialist Doka to speed up construction of the bridge's piers, arches and deck.

The 44 m high piers were formed using Doka's MF240 climbing formwork with Top 50 large area formwork, which allowed up to two section to be cast each week. The arches were formed simultaneously from both ends in 15 casting cycles from abutment to crown using Wito forming carriages. The carriages had custom support plates to allow Züblin to easily adapt them to the varying geometry of the arch.

Once the piers and arches were completed, Züblin laid two steel girders in place for each carriageway deck, which were completed using three 22 m long overslung forming carriages rented from Doka. The aim was to cast the carriageway slabs on a weekly cycle but good weather allowed Züblin to complete up to two cycles a week.

With the structural elements of the bridge completed, Züblin is now focusing on the final finishing elements and the new link will be ready well ahead of the motorway opening date.