TE 12 – Bratislava’s Danube bridges and bypass

Date: 4 October 2023, 7:30–20:30

Construction of a bypass around Bratislava, and several bridges over the Danube River, has been commenced to tackle its traffic problem. Currently, the city is traversed by the D1 and D2 motorways, managed by the National Motorway Company (three bridges over the Danube) and the D4 motorway D4 (one bridge over the Danube), which is being managed by the D4/R7 concession company (Zero Bypass) and constructed as a PPP project. Two bridges on the city’s roads are under the City of Bratislava’s management.

On this technical tour, we will visit a part of the motorway bypass and four of the six bridges over the Danube. These are structures of particular interest because of their architectural or design solution or the construction technology used.

The new Danube bridge is considered to have the most intriguing design with the main structure being a cable-stayed steel bridge with one slanted pylon on the right bank and the central span of the bridge suspended at three points using a slanted double pylon and an anchor block. Structurally speaking, it is continuous girders with three spans of 74.8 + 303.0 + 54.0 metres. The bridge girders have a closed cross-section. The bridge has two decks, the upper one with roadways and the lower one with pedestrian walkways on cantilevers. 

The main bridge is 431.8 metres long, and 688.4 m including the flyovers.

The 303 metres long central span over the watercourse made it the second largest cable-stayed asymmetrical bridge in the world. The bridge was built between 1967 and 1972. It is a landmark in Bratislava and was voted the Construction of the Century in Slovakia in the bridge category.

 

The Apollo bridge is another intriguing structure. It is an arch bridge design consisting of an arch, to which approximately parallel steel cables are attached, holding the bridge deck. The arch structure spans 231 metres, with the total length including the flyovers being 835 metres and the main bridge span length being 517 metres. The arch height is 36 metres and the bridge rests on 20 pillars. The bridge steel structure weighs 5,240 tonnes. The Apollo was nominated for the prestigious 2006 Opal Awards by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was the only European project to actually win the award that year. The bridge also won the Construction of the Year 2006 award in Slovakia in the bridge category.

 

Entering the city, the tour visitors will use a dual-tube motorway tunnel (on the D2) that is 1,414 metres long. The visitors will have an opportunity to listen to an expert commentary on the history of bridge construction and the development or road infrastructure at the Town Hall in the city centre. In addition to speeches delivered by the designer, contractor, and manager of the bridges, visitors will also be offered refreshments. The tour will include a guided walk of the city’s historical centre with comments on the city’s history and a brief visit to the Bratislava Castle for a photo opportunity.

Excursion programme:

07.30–11.30    Transfer from the Prague Congress Centre to Bratislava with one stop along the route – start of the tour

12.00–15.30    Mr Marián Hanták is in charge of the tours in Bratislava

15.30–19.30    Transfer from Bratislava to the Prague Congress Centre with one stop along the route

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