Mostostal Warszawa to sponsor the VII National Conference of Bridge Engineers in Wisła
"Bridge Structure and Equipment" was the main topic of the VII National Conference of Bridge Engineers held on May 28-29 in Wisła. For years, the science and technology conference organised in Wisła has been the key event dedicated to bridges in Silesia and one of the largest events in Poland. This year, it brought together about 200 participants. Mostostal Warszawa was represented by Grzegorz Krzystański, Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Lech Własak from the R[&]D Department – responsible for the completion of the first innovative FRP road bridge.
Issues related to the structure and equipment of bridges are significant enough for us to become one of the event’s sponsors. Grzegorz Krzystański (Director of the Department of Infrastructure) chaired the Bridge Construction Technology session and then delivered a lecture summarising our company's achievements over the 70 years of its history. However, this was not the only lecture. Lech Własak (R[&]D) was the co-author of an article on designing and researching the first Polish road bridge made of FRP composites (www.com-bridge.pl). The talk received a great deal of interest as substituting traditional construction materials with composites may improve a structure's durability and reduce costs at the same time!
Expansion joints (i.e. components installed between a bridge's span and abutment to provide road continuity and to allow the bridge to expand and shrink in fluctuating temperature conditions) was one of the topics that triggered a heated discussion during the plenary session. All the participants agreed that, when it comes to Poland, these particular components are in moderate condition. However, they were of a different opinion when it comes to its causes. The discussion on this topic was continued during an official dinner held traditionally after the first day of the session. The informal level of the meeting was increased by an interesting commemorative lecture entitled "The Lesser Known Polish Bridge Engineers" given by Professor Janusz Rymsza from the Road and Bridge Research Institute.