Installation of the steel structure
The whole steel load-bearing structure was divided into 2 parts. Each of them was welded using smaller items on-site (one from the Zakopane side, the other from the Kraków side). Before lifting the constructed components, shuttering to be used under the concrete slab was mounted “on the ground”, then the two halves were placed over the Zakopianka on assembly supports and welded together. The installation was completed using a wheel crane with a lifting capacity of 200 tons in such a way as to make the bridge stable during each stage. The final stages of the project were static and dynamic load tests. It was all done to be certain that the saggings are not greater than those allowed for in the design and that the bridge meets all the criteria for comfortable use.
