To build on the success of the April site visit to the Blanka Tunnel in Prague, the ICE Czech Republic organized a site visit to the new motorway bridge across the Lochkov Valley in Prague.
This year's second site visit aimed to enhance the contacts and relationships within the small community of local ICE members and took place on 24th June 2010. The visit was made possible thanks to great assistance from a local ICE member, Jan Balicek, and the organisers welcomed a number of ICE members as well as the country representative of IET, Mr. Petr Cesak, with other IET members and members of the Czech Chamber of Engineers and Technicians (CKAIT).
The motorway bridge over the Lochkov Valley, a part of the new Prague ring road, forms a vital link in the southwestern portion of the ring that connects the D5 and D1 motorways leading to Germany and Slovakia. The structure's maximum height is 65m above the Berounka river in Radotin. The ICE party were given a thorough presentation by the representatives of the contractor Boegl a Krysl, followed by a visit to the bridge deck as well as the bottom of the valley with stunning views of the new structure.
The bridge is designed as a continuous beam of five bays with a steel frame with inclined supports in the central bay. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic and has a composite reinforced concrete deck, 35m wide. Due to its location in the motorway bend, the bridge is curved on plan and inclined in section, with 4% deck gradient designed across the whole length of the 420m long steel structure. The steel structure was launched from both sides of the valley and then joined in the middle. The last launch of the steel structure was finished in June 2009.
The bridge will be completed in autumn 2010 when this section of the Prague ring road will also be opened to the public.
Martin Duris, ICE Representative for Czech Republic