Webuild delivers maxi bridge to Romania

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Countdown to the opening of the bridge Of Braila in Romaniathe second longest suspension bridge in continental Europe, built by Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo) in an international joint venture. The bridge over Danube represents a new success of theengineering and of talent Italians in the world. The tests of the work have been completed in these days, which tested its tightness with static and dynamic load tests in view of the imminent inauguration.

Latest tests

For a few days, up to 60 Tyre of the total weight of 2,400 tons (equal to the average weight of approx 400 elephants) who have “tested” its structure; to follow, 2 trucks then traveled the entire bridge at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour, to test its vibrations. The effects of the tests on the bridge structure were monitored in real time also through the use of high-precision detection instruments.

The Braila bridge is of the same type – suspension bridge – as the bridge over the Strait of Messina, compared to which it is over half the size. The Danube Suspension Bridge has a central span of 1,120 metersis long 1,975 meters and is equipped with 4 lanes of traffic, with emergency lanes and cycle and pedestrian lanes. The result of an extremely challenging and innovative project, the Braila bridge was built by Webuild in collaboration with the Japanese partner IHI Infrastructure Systems Co. Ltd., and connects the two banks of the Danube in the Galati-Braila area, guaranteeing crossing times of the fastest river for the approx 7 thousand vehicles per day who today have the only possibility of moving to ferry.

Relevant work

An important work, which in the last two years of work has seen the completion of complex, as well as scenographic, processes. At the beginning of last year, the assembly of the two supporting cables was completed, generated by the interweaving of over 18 thousand steel wires, weighing a total of 6,775 tons. Last summer one of the most challenging phases for the construction of the work was completed, the assembly of the steel deck of the bridge, the “steel deck”.

Over 250 skilled workers and technicians were employed to install the 86 segments which make up the deck, with an average weight of 260 tons each, for the assembly of which a specific method of launching and laying was studied. Webuild boasts the accomplishment of over thousand kilometers of bridges and viaducts, the equivalent of a single large bridge capable of connecting Berlin and Paris. Among the many works created, there are real symbols of the group’s innovative capacity, such as the Genoa San Giorgio bridge in Italy, an engineering challenge completed in just over a year after the collapse of the Morandi Bridge, and the iconic Third Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey.