The sea barge lifts the missing bridge blocks from the Kruunuvuoren Bridge into place. The Kruunuvuorensilta construction site is closed to boats due to the work.
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Norwegian sea barge Uglen has arrived in Helsinki for a rare lifting operation in Finnish conditions. The middle eight bridge blocks of the Kruunuvuoren Bridge, each weighing around 500 tons, are lifted into place. The first part is due to be installed next night.
The last time such a strong sea barge worked in Finland was when the Lövö bridge was being built in Finland ten years ago.
The Norwegian sea barge Uglen arrived in Helsinki on Thursday morning. It is awaiting the start of lifting works at Kalasatama at the tip of Nihti.
After the lifting operations, the arch of the longest bridge in Finland, over a kilometer long, is complete, and the bridge deck can be built on top of the sturdy steel structures.
Kruunustilti site manager Ville Lehtonen describes the bridge blocks as a combination of large steel girders. One bridge block is 72 meters long.
“They have two main beams and numerous cross beams. After the lifting operations, the bridge blocks are welded together.”
At the bridge site it would have been possible to settle for smaller 20-meter bridge blocks, which would have been lifted into place by a smaller sea barge. Much more time would have passed than the week planned for now.
“We got greedy,” Lehtonen smiles.
The first two bridge blocks are lifted into place on consecutive nights. Then there will be a break day, and the remaining six will be lifted in the day shift from Thursday.
The public may be interested in the historic lifting operation, but Lehtonen does not recommend coming near the construction site. From the shores of Laajasalo, however, you can have a direct view of the construction site.
Krunuvuorensiltan there will be a ban on boating in the construction site on Monday at midnight. If the two bridge blocks on the Korkeasaari side can be installed without friction, the boating route will no longer need to be closed at night.
However, lifting gigantic bridge blocks is delicate work, and the wind must not be more than ten meters per second.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute predicts a moderate wind of 2-3 meters per second for the night between Monday and Tuesday.
What if, for one reason or another, the withdrawal is not possible on the night before Tuesday?
“Then the operation moves to the next night,” Lehtonen replies.
Withdrawals after that, the lower parts of the bridge pylon rising to a height of 135 meters will be continued at the bridge site in seven-meter blocks. The construction of the bridge deck continues according to the work plan.
According to Lehtonen, the construction site has progressed according to schedule. The construction of the Kruunuvuoren Bridge is scheduled to be completed in 2026. After that, the Laajasalo tramway will be built over the bridge.
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