On Tuesday July 6^th, the final launch of the End and Back span of 221.75m total length and 20,000t weight was performed, leaving only 2.5m distance out of 200m long Back span for bridging of Cukarica Bay. This gap will be bridged with the B13 segment that will join the Back span with the pylon pier table. This segment is going to be completed in July and thus mark joining of the Back span with the pylon in a monolithic structure.

Pouring of the 22^nd pylon segment (240m3) at 100m height lasted 20h uninterruptedly and was completed at 10am on Wednesday July 07^th. The pouring process is done by tower crane that lifts and positions the concrete bucket and pours it out through the electric valve at the bottom of the bucket. This segment is part of the pylon where the legs ‘meet’ in a whole cross-section. Further 17 concrete segments with the same pouring technology continue up to 175m height when installation of steel segments follows to the pylon top.

Pouring of the pier head of pier 5 on Saturday June 12^th marked the completion of all permanent piers (No. 3, 4 and 5) on site 2 on Mala Ada. In addition, on June 22^nd in the Zimovnik Bay the heads of auxiliary piers HS1 and HS2 were poured, thus completing all auxiliary piers of the bridge. Works on piers 1 and 2 on Novi Beograd are currently ongoing.

On Monday June 22^nd, the cantilevers of the second segment of the Main bridge span of 100t total weight were assembled and brought to the designated position. With this assembly completed segments T1 and M2 of 34m total length, 45m width and 960t weight are currently connected as cantilevers to the pylon pier table. Pre-assembly of segments M2-M6 is ongoing on site 2.

On Wednesday June 23^rd and Friday 25^th the east and west cantilever of the pier table were poured which completed part of the superstructure that connects the steel Main span and the concrete Back span.

With installation of the pre-fabricated concrete elements on Monday June 28th, the legs of the pylon merged into single cross-section that will continue to grow till the 39^th segment. Pouring of the 22^nd segment is ongoing with which the pylon will reach the height of 99.18m.

On Thursday May 27, total of 206.25m length and 17000t weight of Back span and End span of the bridge superstructure was launched, consisting of B1-B10 completed segments, box girder B11 and bottom plate. This further 18m-launch bridged 167.75m of the 200m long Back span. After the two remaining launches, B13 segment will be poured in order to bridge the 2.5m distance between the pier table and the Back span. The last two launches will include dismantling of the frontal steel nose and then the whole nose towards completion. Currently B1-B11 are completed whilst B12 and B14 are in progress with which bridging of the 50m long End span between pier 7 and 8, has started. The End span is part of B12 segment as B14, B15 and B16 segment.

The second M1 segment of the Main bridge span was assembled and brought to the designated position on the same day. Derrick crane positioned on the first T1 segment was used for the purpose of lifting of this 360t segment. T1 segment together with the M1 box of 34m total length and 860t weight are currently connected like cantilevers to the pylon pier table. On site 2 ongoing is pre-assembly of segments M2-M6.

On Wednesday May 26^th, the pylon has reached the height of 94.59m by pouring of its 21^th segment - West leg and the day after the self-climbing formwork on the west was dismantled so as to enable installation of the formwork on the pylon - East leg and completion of the 19^th, 20^th and 21^th segment. On Monday June 07^th the 20^th segment - East leg was poured at 90m height leaving only one more segment to dismantling of the formwork on the east and installation of the pre-fabricated concrete elements for merging of the legs at the 22^th segment. This will initialize assembly of new formwork for the whole pylon cross-section and reinforcement of the next segments. This formwork will continue to be in use till the 39^th segment followed by installation of 25m steel structure to form the pylon top.

Bridge over river Sava Project reached a record number of visitors last week with the site visit of more than 100 students from the Civil Engineering Faculties of Belgrade and Ljubljana Universities. Greatest in number were the Slovenian guests, as much as 60 students of the VI and VIII term from the above mentioned Faculty visited the construction site of the new bridge over river Sava being built in Belgrade on April 23, 2010.

The guests have started their visit with comprehensive lecture on the technology of Sava bridge construction at the Civil Engineering Faculty in Belgrade presented by prof. Bratislav Stipanic and were professionally thrilled and impressed later by the site visit of such grandiose structure. Hosts to their visit to the pylon and Back span locations, were again prof. Stipanić in his role of Design review manager within the Engineer’s team together with the Senior site engineer Vladimir Marjanović from the Contractor’s side. They were happy to welcome and respond to numerous technical questions regarding the pylon, the back span, its development and different bridge construction stages.

As for the site activities, the 200m Back span completed its 10^th launch bridging Cukarica bay for total of 132m on Monday April 26. By pouring of the 17^th segment, the pylon has ascended to 77m height.

On April 10, 150m long and 12000t Back span of the bridge superstructure was launched further for additional 18m, bridging 114m of the 200m Back span across Cukarica Bay. Only five more launches till the Back span superstructure reaches the pylon.

Assembly of the first steel T1 segment out of 23 of the Main bridge span was completed on April 13, 2010. T1 segment was brought to the designated position by being temporarily supported in front of the pylon on the northern side. Upon pre-assembly of the central parts of the segment, their erection and installation, the pre-assembled cantilevers were erected and connected to the box girder, as well as the struts afterwards. T1 segment has 17m length and 501t weight.

Ongoing is pre-assembly of the second M1 segment on site 3 on Ada Ciganlija in parallel with pre-assembly of the third M2 segment on site 2 on Mala Ada.

Delivery of manufactured M4, M5 and M6 Main span steel segments of 1040t total weight, arrived on site 2 on Mala Ada, on Wednesday April 16.

On Saturday April 17, the 4.6m high 14^th segment - East leg was poured whilst the 16^th segment - West leg was completed a day after. By completion of 16 from the total of 39 segments on the pylon west leg, the pylon has reached the height of 72m which equals an apartment building of 24 floors. By inclination of pylon legs, their distance gradually diminishes; hence in the future the self-climbing formwork on the west will be two segments higher than the eastern one, even three segments in the later period.

On Monday March 15^th, 114m long and 9500t Back span segments of the bridge superstructure were pushed for another 18m, bridging 71m of the total 200m Back span over Cukarica Bay. Currently, six segments are completed while the 7^th and 8^th are under construction. Reinforced concrete Back span comprises of 12 segments, each of 18m length and 1800t weight.

Part of the bridge superstructure which is at the position of the pylon and connects the Main steel span and reinforced concrete Back span is currently under construction.

On Thursday March 18^th, the 4.6m long 12^th pylon segment – West leg, was poured whilst the East leg of the 12^th segment was finished on March 20^th. By completion of 12 from the total of 39 segments on both legs, the pylon has reached the height of 54m which equals an apartment building of 18 floors.

376m Main span will be bridged by a steel structure with an orthotropic plate of 45m width. The steel structure is manufactured in China and then shipped by boat to the site. Lengths of the segments are 16m, bulks about 330t and there are 23 segments.

On Thursday February 11^th 2010, erection and assembly of parts of the first Main span segment (T1) onto the trestle in front of the pylon on the north side started. Welding of erected parts of the segment T1 box is ongoing and pre-assembly of the west and east cantilever of T1 which will also be placed onto the trestle, is simultaneously ongoing on the site.

On completion of works on the first segment T1, pre-assembly of the second segment M1 will start on the site by the pylon, after which it will be lifted up to the designed height by a derrick crane and connected to the previous segment T1.

Pre-assembly of other segments will be performed on the site at Ada Mala. The pre-assembled segments will be transported by barges to the location of installation where they will be lifted by a derrick crane and welded onto the previously erected segments. The erected segments will be anchored by stay cables with which their load is transferred onto the pylon.

The pre-assembly of the third segment M2 is ongoing on site 2 at Ada Mala.

On Saturday January 16, B1, B2, B3 and B4 reinforced concrete segments of the back span of 59.75m total length and the steel nose of 27m were pushed for another 18m, thus bridging the distance between permanent pier 7 and auxiliary pier HS7 in the Cukarica Bay. For the pushing of this part of the bridge superstructure of 3.500t weight, hydraulic launching device was used that is installed on pier head 7. Works on B3, B4 and new B5 segments continue in order to enable further development of the bridge superstructure. B1 and B2 segments are already complete, bottom slab and box girder of B3 segment are concreted as well as the bottom slab of B4 segment. Reinforcement process at B5 segment is in progress.

With the completion of both the east and west legs of the 5th segment on January 14, 2010, the bridge pylon at the Ada Ciganlija tip reached 22m height, the level of the bridge roadway. The new landmark of Belgrade, will be 200m high, with 175m concrete segments cast in 39 steps. Segments vary from 4m to 5m in height. Until the 21st climbing step the pylon consists of two inclined legs (west and east) which are joined at a height of 98m above the top of foundation. From the 22^nd up it consists of single cross section with the top 25m being made of stainless steel. The pylon itself is founded on 113 piles connected by a massive 9m thick base plate and embraced by 36m diaphragm wall, 37m deep. Total of 16,000m³ of concrete were poured for the pylon foundation alone.

During the visit of five major projects in Belgrade on December 22, 2009, the Mayor of Belgrade together with his closest associates visited site 4 of the new bridge over the Sava as a venue to present the most important achievements of the City Administration in the passing year. The bridge at Ada Ciganlija, as a top priority of the City capital investment projects, gains its contours progressively and its construction sites serve as an example and praise for their safety standards. The Mayor has, in his own name and in the name of the citizens of Belgrade, extended gratitude to the workers that continue their work in such severe winter conditions, aiding the development of the future landmarks of Belgrade.

For the purpose of enabling better traffic flow of this highly frequent bridge in the future, access roads and interchanges are critical. Technical control of the North and South roads main designs is near completion and development of the Preliminary design for “Radnicka” interchange will start soon, according to the Detailed Regulation Plan requirements and conceptual solutions received. Another section of the new bridge road network is “Hippodrome” Interchange that includes reconstruction of blvd. Vojvode Mišica and construction of new overpass near Careva cuprija that will allow for fast and uninterrupted connection of the new bridge traffic with Banovo brdo and other parts of the city.

200m long back span of the bridge crossing Cukarica Bay consists of 12 reinforced concrete segments. Bridge segments of 18m typical length are concreted directly on the launching platform where the formwork is installed in three sectors of the ramp: for bottom slab, box girder and cantilevers. Poured segments are post-tensioned together and then pulled by jacks along the axis of the bridge. Steel nose for launching is mounted at the beginning of the first segment and serves to reduce the bending moments in concrete superstructure spanning the distance between the auxiliary piers. Puling of segments B1, B2, B3 and steel nose for 18m started on Monday December 7, 2009 positioning the segment B1 over Pier 7 above Cukarica bay. Pulling of these segments allows for construction of new segment B4 and continuation of the work on segments B2 and B3. In addition, all three auxiliary piers in Cukarica Bay are also completed.

Casting of the pier head 7 on Saturday November 21, 2009 marked the completion of the first permanent pier of the new bridge over river Sava. Next stage is connecting the launching platform with completed pier 7 with pre-cast beams by November 30. This will enable further launching and extension of the bridge deck above pier 7. First section of the bridge deck, B1 is completed whilst B2 and B3 segments, each 18m long, are under construction.

As the casting of the whole cross section of the first segment of the back span concrete bridge girder is now complete, the Contractor engaged world wide known post tensioning specialist subcontractor BBV Vorspanntechnik GmbH Germany to perform the post tensioning works. These works started on November 13, 2009 with post tensioning in transverse direction and mark yet another milestone of the Project development.

Students of the VII term at the Management, Technology and IT department of the above mentioned Faculty visited the construction site of the new landmark structure being built in Belgrade on October 27, 2009.

Accompanied by their professor Dragan Arizanovic and his assistant, they have visited all parts of the bridge site, making reference to their theoretical knowledge in practice: piles, diaphragm wall, formwork, concreting conditions and capacities. Their particular interest in the erection of the sky-high pylon was met by the Contractor’s representative Martin Steinkuhler, who was happy to respond to numerous technical questions regarding the pylon, the main span, its erection and different impacts on the bridge structure.

Their professional curiosity complemented with the pleasure of witnessing a day at construction site was further added by the beautiful sunny day that beautified the bridge building setting for these young engineers-to-be. “Huge formwork and its technological mobility were one of their first surprises and the encounter with the reinforced profile of largest diameter totally ‘knocked them off’ their feet. The image that they previously had in their head totally dispersed at the first glance at the stacks of mega reinforcement bars”, says professor Arizanovic.

Casting of the first stage of the concrete base to the bridge pylon, planned to commence on 16th September 2009, is a significant milestone during the construction of the new bridge over the Sava River.

This first section of the pylon base has a cage of reinforcing steel consisting of over 500t of steel bars of up to 32mm diameter and shall require the delivery and placement of over 2,800m³ of concrete. The supply of the required quantity of concrete shall utilize the full production capacity of 2 of Belgrade’s most modern concrete plants in order to achieve the target of 8 deliveries per hour in transit mixer trucks, each with a capacity of 9m³ of concrete. The operation is scheduled to be completed within a continuous 48 hour period, finishing on 18^th September 2009. This shall be one of the biggest continuous concrete operations carried out in Serbia in the last few years and will be a significant achievement for the participating Serbian companies.

President Boris Tadic, accompanied by the Mayor of Belgrade Dragan Djilas and high City officials, visited the construction site of the new bridge over river Sava on May 31, 2009. Having visited the pylon location at the tip of Ada Ciganlija and the launching yard on the right bank of river Sava, the President and the Mayor got more detailed information of the bridge construction progress stressing the importance of this bridge on Ada Ciganlija as one of the first development projects to enhance the integration of the Serbian capital with its rivers.

A major engineering project such as the bridge at Ada Ciganlija requires the construction of extensive preparatory works before the commencement of the construction of the actual bridge structure, called the Permanent Works. For the construction of the new bridge these preparatory works, referred to as temporary works include the construction of elevated casting and launching platforms on both banks of the river Sava. The construction of the platform located on the right bank of the river commenced in February 2009 and continues with a target completion for July 2009.

The Back Span of the bridge will be constructed of post-tensioned concrete segments that will be launched from the elevated platform located on the right bank of Sava to the bridge pylon at the tip of Ada. As the Back Span is 200m long and the maximum span for launching is 50m, it is necessary to construct 3 temporary piers in the inlet between the right bank and Ada Ciganlija. These temporary piers will be constructed with steel trestles that are supported by piled foundations. The contractor has completed one set of foundations for these temporary piers to date.

Preparatory works, consisting of a rock filled platform have also been completed at the location of the bridge pylon on Ada Ciganlija. This platform enables the construction of the foundations for the pylon, commencing with the installation of the reinforced concrete perimeter diaphragm wall that is required to seal the area and allow dewatering of the excavation.

Boring of the first trial pile at pier 7 location on the right bank of the river Sava on 1st December 2008, marked the beginning of the construction works of the bridge over the tip of Ada Ciganlija. In the presence of the Bridge Contractor, Project Manager and Engineer, Belgrade Land Development Public Agency, City Technical Advisory Committee and City Council representatives, the Mayor of the City of Belgrade Mr Dragan Djilas officially started the crawler crane and expressed his belief that the new 30-year awaited bridge in Belgrade, will be completed within the set deadline.

During the past few months, following the signing of the Design-and-Build Contract with Consortium comprising PORR (Austria), SCT (Slovenia) and DSD (Germany), detailed geotechnical investigation and surveys were conducted for the purpose of development of the Detailed Design. In parallel, site preparatory works were carried out, including site clearance, fencing, provision of building materials, electricity and water supply, and other important infrastructure, whilst the City managed the relocation of boats and vessels from the construction zone. The trial piling at the remaining six bridge piers will be performed in the next few weeks.

According to the work schedule, this new contemporary bridge with 12,000 vehicles/hr capacity should be put into operation by the end of 2011. According to the words of Prof. Hajdin, president of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the City Technical Advisory Committee, the new Belgrade cable-stayed bridge will be top-level achievement with its urban, traffic and environmental properties.

Representatives of the Consortium “PORR Technobau und umwelt AG” from Austria, “SCT dd” from Slovenia and “DSD GmbH” from Germany have signed the Contract with the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency at the City Council on April 9th this year.

The construction of the cable stayed bridge over Ada Ciganlija constitutes the first phase of the Inner City Semi-Ring Road and will mostly be financed by the loan from the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction, while the Land Development Agency will fund the construction of the Approach Roads.

The Contract with the above mentioned Bridge Contractor was signed in accordance with FIDIC conditions for design and construction. In the following months the Contractor will conduct geotechnical investigation and surveys which will aid the development of the Detailed Design for this project. In parallel, site preparation works will be carried out, including fencing of the site, provision of building materials, electricity and water supply, and other important infrastructure which is needed for the site. The works on site will continue in phases depending on the issue of the building permit for certain project items. The deadline for construction is 40 months.

For further details please refer to the Project Description page.