Správa železnic, the Czech rail administration, has opened a 316m rail bridge with a 34.7m high reinforced concrete arch to replace a historic steel structure.

The new Schwarzenberg Bridge with the old bridge behind. Credit: Správa železnic

The new Schwarzenberg Bridge over the Orlík reservoir near Cervená nad Vltavou will permit the use of heavier modern trains on the route between Tábor and Písek. It will also allow the railway to transport freight once again. And it makes possible the installation of overhead lines for electrification.

The contractor was Metrostav and the project cost US$28.7 million.

At its highest point, the bridge is 69m above the bed of the Vltava River, and its main span is 156m. The foundations on the Tábor side are set deep into the rockface, which required blasting and the lowering of the Vltava River. This phase of the project was carried out at the same time as the construction of a spillway designed to protect the Orlík dam in the event of a 10,000-year flood.

After reinforcement and formwork, contractors concreted the arch using a trolley that moved along the completed section.

Load testing on the new Schwarzenberg Bridge. Credit: Správa železnic

The old bridge, a steel structure dating from 1889, has been designated a national cultural monument and left in place to the north of the new bridge. There are plans to manage it as a cultural space and cycle path.