Budimex has completed one of the main elements of the construction of the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk, i.e. a 100-metre swing bridge over the Elbląg River in Nowakowo. The structure, which successfully passed load tests in April and obtained the necessary permits, was opened to vehicular traffic. The facility was constructed under a contract concluded with the Maritime Office in Gdynia.
The new swing bridge in Nowakowo over the Elbląg River will certainly improve navigation, but also significantly improve road transport. The commissioning of the new facility with the accompanying road infrastructure will allow the contractor to proceed to the next step, which will be the demolition of the existing crossing, which is a navigational obstacle, namely the pontoon bridge, and the completion of works related to the reconstruction of the shore in this area.
The new bridge is a steel structure weighing over 700 tons. In the middle, on the main support, there is a special bearing on which the bridge is rotated. It is the longest (103 m) of the three swing bridges designed and built as part of the waterway.
“The project of digging the Vistula Spit is undoubtedly one of the greatest construction and logistical challenges in Poland. The construction of the bridge we are carrying out – which is worth adding is one of the few operating of this type in Poland – along with the reconstruction of 15 km of the shore, at peak times required the involvement of several hundred people and 30 vessels. It is worth noting that the entire project was completed in a record time of 2.5 years,” says Grzegorz Małasiewicz, Contract Director and Site Manager at Budimex SA.
The construction of the bridge is one of the elements of the second stage of the “Construction of a waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk”. As part of this contract, the banks are being refined on the Elbląg River on a section of about 10.4 km and dredging works on a section of 3.8 km. The banks along the Elbląg River are enclosed with a hydrotechnical structure up to the elevation of +2.5 m (on sections where the embankments are being rebuilt). The reinforcement of the banks is carried out in the form of a sheet pile wall, topped with a reinforced concrete cap. In addition, in order to facilitate access to the river, two low marinas are being built at the elevation of +1.2 m along with a slipway for launching vessels.
“After the bridge is built, the problem with opening and closing the crossing in unfavorable weather conditions will disappear. A very important project here is also the construction of a 1.5 km county road, which connects to the new swing bridge. Nowakowo, where the second stage of the investment is being implemented, as an island, is currently connected to the mainland by a pontoon bridge, which is in a very poor technical condition. The new bridge rotates around a vertical axis of rotation. It will significantly facilitate communication with Nowakowska Island. The bridge will be opened for commercial vessels at the request of the Harbour Master’s Office, a small crossing for vessels with an “air draft” below 5 m will take place on an ongoing basis,” said Wiesław Piotrzkowski, Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, Investor of the “Construction of a waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk”.
The first part of the construction of the twenty-three-kilometre-long waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk, completed in September 2022 on the Vistula Spit, as well as its second stage, is not the end of the entire investment. As part of the third stage, the dredging of the fairway on the Vistula Lagoon at a length of 8200 m has already been completed and new navigational markings have been erected.
