Oldest ferro-concrete bridge in CEE renewed

THE MUNICIPALITY of Krásno nad Kysucou in the Čadca district in northern Slovakia has a bridge which is the oldest ferro-concrete bridge in the whole of central Europe still operating today, dating back to the end of the 19th century.

It needed reconstruction, and so in August, the works began. Mayor of Krásno, Jozef Grapa, told the SITA newswire that this bridge was built in 1891 by the Wayss company and it is unique as for its technology.

“This is the oldest ferro-concrete bridge in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and central Europe that has been preserved until these days,” Grapa said. “However, trucks drive daily on its surface, and their pressure has stressed the supporting walls.” Stones started to fall into people’s gardens from the bridge that leads, paradoxically, over the Bystrica river (and not the Kysuca, as the town’s name might suggest), and thus, the town asked for a reconstruction that was launched by the beginning of August.

However, in the course of the works, it turned out that it was not enough just to reconstruct the bridge and boost it with concrete reinforcement, but that it was necessary to actually build a new bridge on the old one by injecting the supports with concrete and putting a new surface that would more evenly distribute the weight of vehicles. Thus, the works planned to last for three months were underway by August, according to the local TV channel KTV, and the mayor hopes that the unique bridge will be finished by the time winter comes.