The bridges across Oulujoki river are part of Main road 4 where the traffic volumes are very high: 50,000 vehicles per day on average, with peak volumes reaching 70,000 vehicles. Renovating bridges at the busy Oulujoki section is a demanding task that involves ensuring a smooth traffic flow during the project, dismantling the old bridges and constructing the new ones. Throughout the project, two lanes for each direction must be kept open for traffic. Four busy lanes on one bridge pose a particular challenge for the work.
Both of the Oulujoki bridges are 143 m long and 17.5 m wide. Prior to any actual dismantlement or construction, scaffolding must be built across the river, which is some 8 m deep.
The renovation was carried out as an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) project, and the contract was awarded on the basis of Kreate’s innovation in the design and execution of the bridges’ substructure. The innovation enabled modifying the customer’s original plan in order to reach a techno-economic and cost-efficient solution. It is marked as a trade secret that is also binding on the customer.
The customer is the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, and the project is scheduled to be completed in Autumn 2021. The value of the contract is approximately EUR 11 million.
