The Torniojoki railway bridge, which was the work site of our railway professionals, is 410 metres long, 37% of which is on the Finnish side and 63% on the Swedish side. The project involved opening the steel beams of the bridge to allow the installation of the structures required for the electrification. In addition, we repaired the stone seams, as well as by hydro-pointing and spray-concreting. The work also included painting the steel trusses on the Finnish side and patching the steel trusses on the Swedish side.
We started work in March 2024 with the construction of the scaffolding for the entire railway bridge. From there, we proceeded to the precision measurements of the steel structures and the ultrasonic inspection of the steel rivets, followed by the modification of the steel parts in the way of the electrification, i.e. the actual opening of the steel grating of the bridge. After repainting and patching the steel trusses, we made concrete repairs to the bridge supports.
The extensive track work on the bridge, which opened to trains throughout the project, required strong skills not only in the execution of the scaffolding and track work, but also in its pre-planning and phasing management. Very precise measurements, monitoring the conditions of the surface treatment works and planning the phasing of the steel structure installations, as well as extensive painting work during the short summer in Lapland, also brought their own challenges to the work of our track builders.
As part of Kreate’s sustainability work, the construction project paid special attention to recycling waste from surface treatment, among other things. When we worked on the water bridge, we naturally also ensured that our high-quality work was produced without polluting the water.
The project, commissioned by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and carried out in close cooperation with the Swedish Transport Agency, Trafikverket, was completed in November 2024 and is worth around 3 million euros.
The widening of the Tornionjoki railway bridge was as part of the Laurila-Tornio-Haaparanta electrification project, which created the conditions for the launch of cross-border passenger services. The Laurila-Tornio-Haaparanta railway project was a joint project between the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the National Emergency Supply Agency and the Swedish Trafikverket.
Kreate’s track professionals were also working on another challenging track construction project in Tornio, where we are renewing the trackage in the Tornio railway yard and building a new passenger platform. The project also includes the replacement of safety equipment and the renovation of one railway bridge over the E8 road and the demolition of another over the same E8 road. Read more about the Tornio Railway Yard project on our website.
