This year's repairs of the Prague Barrandov Bridge will be completed by the end of the summer holidays

Prague - This year's repairs of the Barrandov Bridge in Prague will be completed by the end of the summer holidays and will be reopened on the weekend before the start of the school year on September 4. Workers are currently pouring the leveling layer of the bridge, doing insulation, installing expansion joints, or repairing bearings between the pillars and the main structure of the bridge. Traffic around the bridge is heavy but smooth. This was stated today by Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), Director of the Technical Road Management (TSK) Jozef Sinčák, and construction manager Martina Ředina.

Road workers began this year's repairs on May 15. They include work on the left half of the southern bridge heading from Smíchov to Braník and on the ramp from K Barrandovu Street. The overall repair started last year on the southern half of its southern section. The work is spread over several years and will only take place for part of each year. The total cost for the entire period will amount to 594.5 million crowns. The bridge complex built in 1983, consisting of two parts, northern and southern, has never been repaired before.

According to Hřib, the reconstruction in the second phase is proceeding as expected, although unexpected complications have arisen. "But I believe that we will manage to keep the schedule so that we finish by the end of the summer holidays,” Hřib said. Until now, the most serious issue was the condition of the supports of the Barrandov ramp, which are in worse condition than the project anticipated. "However, we have managed to adjust the remediation work so that it fits into the main schedule, so it should not cause any delays,” Sinčák said.

Workers are currently pouring a leveling layer that will align the surface of the repaired section to the same height as the rest of the bridge. The layer is made of special concrete that was first tested during last year's repairs. Road workers are also installing new insulation under the ledges and installing a new expansion joint that allows for so-called dilation, or the expansion of the bridge. "Further work is ongoing inside the bridge chamber, where we are pouring deviators, which are concrete blocks that define the geometry of the new prestressing cables that we are using to strengthen the bridge,” Ředina said.

On the access ramp from Barrandov, workers have also poured the leveling layer. "Currently, part of the bridge deck under the ledges is insulated, and concrete is being poured for the ledges, plus the injection of prestressing cables for the load-bearing structure,” Ředina said. On the ramp, it is necessary to replace the bearings between the pillar and the load-bearing structure, which required workers to lift the structure. They are now replacing the bearings, which they also did on the main bridge across the river.

According to Ředina, road workers have managed to leverage the experiences gained from last year's repairs, especially in the case of unexpected events when it was necessary to complete the mentioned leveling layer. They were already aware of this need this year. "In winter, we prepared for it. Therefore, the work this year is definitely proceeding more smoothly than last year,” Ředina said.

Whether the repairs will be delayed like last year cannot be ruled out. To prevent this, according to Sinčák, the time for additional work has been shortened to a quarter to a third of the originally planned time. "The risk of something new arising theoretically exists, but I believe that the knowledge we have gained about the structure is valid enough that we won't be caught off guard by a fatal issue. Weather is always a factor; if it rains for five consecutive days, it will impact the schedule,” he said.

The Barrandov Bridge, built in 1983, is part of the city ring road and has never been repaired. It is crossed by more than 140,000 cars daily, making it the busiest road in Prague. The reconstruction of the structure is spread over several years and will only take part of each year. The total cost for the entire period will amount to 594.5 million crowns.