Wirkowice composite bridge: Europe’s first road bridge with Arcorox 460® weathering steel
This composite bridge in Wirkowice in the Lubelskie (Lublin) province of Poland on the Wieprz River is the first road bridge in Europe constructed with S460J2W weathering steel. The bridge was the result of the ‘Wieprz River road bridge reconstruction on 3142L district road’ investment project. The general contractors, Mosty Zamość, completed the work at the start of October 2020 well ahead of schedule in order to allow local residents to use the new crossing as quickly as possible.
Design optimisation
The bridge was originally designed as a continuous, three-span steel-concrete composite structure with a concrete slab. The main structure consisted of four rolled
HL1000A girders in S355J2+M grade and steel crossbeams of HL1000A in S355J2+M grade. The concrete slab connects to the load bearing structure with the use of shear studs.
As part of the design optimisation, a composite steel structure with the use of rolled profiles in the new S460J2W + M steel grade according to PN-EN 10025-5:2019 was proposed. HEA 900 profiles were used, which allowed for weight reduction and an increase in bridge clearance. The S460J2W steel grade, dedicated to hot rolled profiles, is known as Arcorox® 460. This steel is characterised by a high yield strength of 460MPa and, characteristic of steel according to PN-EN 10025-5, increased resistance to atmospheric corrosion.
The cross bracing elements have also been optimised – the welded steel cross beams at support and in span were replaced by concrete crossbeams for the end supports and intermediate pillars, without the need for span crossbeams. This design is in line with the Ministry of Infrastructure’s guidelines as set out in the ‘Directory for Typical Road Structures, Bridge Structures, and Culverts’ (Katalogu Typowych Konstrukcji Drogowych Obiektów Mostowych i Przepustów).
Typology: Composite road bridge
Completion: 2020
Design firm: FASYS Mosty Wrocław Sp. z o.o.
General contractor: MOSTY Zamość, Tomasz Czyż
Investor: Zarząd Dróg Powiatowych w Przasnyszy
Section size: HEA 900
Tonnage: 60t
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