W Kraków is building a footbridge over the Vistula River, which will communicate the Inflancki boulevards with Wołyński, and thus the Old Town and Kazimierz with Dębniki and Podgórze. Currently, there is simply a phase related to the assembly of the alleged starting segments, which are the connection between the footheads and bridges. Prior to that, a major challenge, greater than expected, was the stakework associated with the planting of the supports.
Differing hardness and burden capacity of stone layers
The installation of drilled large-diameter stakes on the Inflanck Boulevard lasted longer than was laid down in the schedule, as contractors encountered different ground-water conditions than originally established. The biggest problem was the higher order of the stone floor. The difference was about 5.5 m (previously it was defined as 178.1 m above sea level).
The encountered geological profile proved to be heavy intertwined with advanced strength stone material alternating with thin layers of ground with lower burden capacity. In order to place the stakes on a stone with appropriate parameters, they had to drill gradually through low-performance layers, which entailed an extension of work time.
As Jan Machowski, the Press Secretary of the Municipal Investment Board, informed us, there was a crucial variation in the hardness and burden capacity of stone layers, which frequently had different properties than those identified at the drilling phase utilizing lace of tiny diameter. It was primarily about silicatic concretions, that is to say, hard boulders, which by respective days extended this scope of works.
It is worth noting that the torch utilized in this investment arrived at the construction site with a barge. For transport between the boulevards, Vistula was besides utilized (large-diameter poles were besides utilized on the second boulevard). This allowed to minimize the nuisance for residents.
Later, specialized linear anchors were used, utilizing which foundations were tuned to the ground.
On the Vistula River in Kraków
It will be 130 m long, 14 m wide and the form of a three-story arch. The structure will consist of 2 steel arches with variable rigidity attached to massive reinforced concreteheads and a central viewing bridge. The last time was devoted, among others, to the installation of steel take-off segments for concrete bodies of the footheads, which are meant to form a connection between the supports and footbridges. After this stage, utmost bay segments, 12 m long, will appear on the construction site. They will be attached to these starting segments, and temporary support will be given to these works at the embankments. The cost of construction of the building on the Vistula River is PLN 113.7 million. It should be ready by mid-2026.
