Gacka Bridge

About

The Gacka Bridge is located between Žuta Lokva and Ličko Lešće. It is 466 metres (1, 529 ft) long, and it comprises four traffic lanes and two emergency lanes. Speed limit enforced on the bridge is 130 km/h. The contract value of the bridge was 94.3 million Croatian kuna (c. €12.7 million) without VAT. The bridge spans Gacka River, one of few remaining rivers in Croatia that is considered as readily potable water, along its entire length. Therefore, environmental protection of the area is of paramount importance at the bridge, bringing about very strict environmental protection measures. One of those was a construction requirement that no section of the bridge comes in contact with the riverbed or Gacka channel. This in turn resulted in a considerable span over the channel (89.53 metres (293.7 ft)). The span across the Gacka River was executed using incremental launching, while the span across the Gacka channel, which is the longest, was executed using free cantilevering. The bridge comprises 9 spans: 54.70 metres (179.5 ft) + 89.53 metres (293.7 ft) + 55.46 metres (182.0 ft) + 44.52 metres (146.1 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 31.83 metres (104.4 ft). Substructure of the bridge has been executed by Hidroelektra, Zagreb in 2003, while the deck structure, executed in steel, has been constructed by Đuro

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.