The bridge in Nowa Wieś is situated in close vicinity to the local airport Rzeszów-Jasionka in the territory of Trzebownisko municipality. This is the second bridge of this type created by Mostostal Warszawa. For inexperienced people, it looks like another small bridge over a little river. Nevertheless, an expert will notice that girders and bridge deck are made of FRP composite – fiber reinforced polymer matrix. Using that lightweight and resistant material to produce all the structural elements allowed to achieve the total prefabrication of the construction and consequently, the assembly of the load-bearing structure was done at a record pace (it took only one day).

New opportunities

‘From the moment we completed the construction of the first composite bridge has past nearly one year. The bridge in Nowa Wieś is our next step in developing the technology of composite bridge. Bridge engineers and scientific organizations that promoting innovative enterprises have recognized the importance of this innovative technique based on the Polish engineering thought. This success wouldn’t be possible without research facilities that Mostostal works with on daily basis. We value very much this partnership. Thanks to our joint work, we can celebrate today in Nowa Wieś opening of this special construction’, commented Grzegorz Krzystański, Director of Department of Infrastructure at Mostostal Warszawa.

Mostostal Warszawa has been actively participating in research and scientific activities for many years now. As the only one general contractor in Poland is engaged in developing innovative solutions in the construction what makes of Mostostal the leader company in the sector. The technology of constructing composite bridges has the potential to revolutionize Polish road infrastructure. Appreciation of the scientists and inquiries from across the country and abroad as well as newly built bridges show how valuable this technology is.

Important details 

All bridge elements were manufactured in Warsaw in company’s composite workshop. For its construction were used glass fibers, epoxy resin, and expanded plastics. Four thin-wall girders measuring 72 cm were joined with deck thickness 13 cm. The bridge in Nowa Wieś was designed for vehicles with the maximum mass of below 3 tons. The span (10 m long and approx. 8 m wide) was transported on-site in two main parts for assembly. Using FRP composite in the process of construction ensured at least 50-year-period of exploitation and minimum maintenance costs.  

‘Low weight of elements (5,8 tons) enabled single vehicle transportation and a rapid assembly. All the work related to assembly of the span was made in several hours on 10 November 2016. Also, thanks to the use of prefabricated elements the process of construction wasn’t comprised by weather; it was possible to work under winter conditions and easier to improve work conditions for employees’, clarified Lech Własak, Chief Specialist for Research and Development, in charge of bridge prefabrication.  

The bridge in Nowa Wieś was developed in the scope of the project Com-bridge – Innovative road bridge made of FRP composite co-financed from the funds of NCBR as a part of pilot programme DEMONSTRATOR+:  Supporting scientific research and development works in demonstration scale. The construction of the bridge was supervised by Przemysław Cabaj (Department of Research and Development Mostostal Warszawa).

Technical and geometrical parameters of the bridge:

• Slab-and-beam structure
• Type of beam: simply supported  
• Span length: 10,00 m
• Total length of the bridge: 10,70 m
• Total width of the bridge: 7,66 m
• Width of carriageway: 5,00 m (2×2,50 m)
• Pavement: 0,75÷1,10 m 
• Load class: C according to the PN-85/S-10030