Largest Ongoing Danube Bridge Project in the Country Nears Completion

Hungary’s largest ongoing bridge project in the southern part of the country, between Paks (Tolna County) and Kalocsa (Bács-Kiskun County) is nearing completion, shortening a seventy-kilometer detour, Világgazdaság reports. The paper points out that the new Danube bridge, the twentieth bridge of the Hungarian Danube section, is expected to be completed by summer 2024, by Duna Aszfalt Zrt.

The details of the project are that the Danube diversion structures (diverting the main river in a direction favorable to the bridge, reducing the load on the new bridge piers) have been completed, and the bridge structure, consisting of two floodplain bridges and a river bridge, is expected to take its final shape this year. The structure of the framework on the left bank of the Danube has been completed and the asphalt has already been laid. The 220-meter-long bridge on the left bank of the Danube has been completed and the dilatation structure has been installed.

This section is the forerunner of the finished bridge, with its fitted cycle rails and the harmonious unity of the structure.

Following the salt protection and sealing works on the Kalocsa side of the superstructure, the cast asphalting of the carriageway has begun, while the main external structure of the bridge has already received the full corrosion protection coating. The test walkway inside the bridge has now been completed, and the electrical and bridge monitoring network is also being installed in phases.

Rising 40 meters above the average Danube water level, the left-hand piles now have eight levels of overhead cables to support the load, while the Paks piles have seven levels of cables. The main supporting structure of the Kalocsa branch of the bridge extends 82.5 meters from the abutment, while the Paks branch extends 77.5 meters above the international shipping route, operating without interruption throughout the project.

The 286-meter-long, 2,000-ton steel superstructure of the right-hand floodplain bridge now rests on the planned supporting structures. On the road, the bridge components have been installed in stages, hence the

final corrosion protection and insulation of the structure can be completed this year.

The assembly hall of the bridge over the Paks floodplain has been dismantled, so that the construction of the reinforced concrete structure of the frame structure on the protected side of the flood protection embankment can also begin, ensuring unhindered traffic for the water management authorities and the emergency services under the newly constructed road No. 512.

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Facebook/Dávid Zsolt