Maurzyce Bridge
| Maurzyce Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Maurzyce Bridge is among the most prized objects of cultural heritage in Poland
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| Carries | originally 2 lanes of vehicles and pedestrians, currently pedestrian-only |
| Crosses | Słudwia River |
| Locale | Maurzyce near Łowicz, Poland |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | truss bridge |
| Material | 370–420 MPa steel |
| Total length | 27 metres (89 ft) |
| Width | 6.76 metres (22.2 ft) |
| Height | 4.3 metres (14 ft) |
| History | |
| Architect | Stefan Bryła |
| Designer | Stefan Bryła |
| Engineering design by | Stefan Bryła, Wenczesław Poniż, Władysław Tryliński |
| Constructed by | K. Rudzki i S-ka |
| Construction start | 1927 |
| Construction end | December 1928 |
| Inaugurated | August 1929 |
| Closed | 1977 |
| References | |
Coordinates: 52°08′22″N 19°52′14″E / 52.1395°N 19.870667°E
The Maurzyce Bridge over the Słudwia River (tributary of Bzura) in Central Poland is the first entirely welded road bridge and the second welded bridge of any category in the world. The bridge is located close to the village of Maurzyce near Łowicz in Łódź Voivodeship.
The bridge was designed in 1927 by Stefan Bryła, one of the pioneers of welding in civil engineering. Bryła, a professor at the Lwów University of Technology, conducted extensive theoretical studies on possible usage of welded steel joints in construction, as well as various aspects of oxy-fuel welding and electric arc welding. Both procedures have been known at least since late 19th century, but their application was mostly limited to house and shipbuilding. However, since the tests proved welded joints could be strong enough to sustain large forces, in mid-1920s Bryła decided to design a welded bridge. He used his earlier design of a riveted bridge, which Bryła and Wenczesław Poniż converted to use the new construction method. However, the cross-beams and some elements of the chords were re-designed from scratch. Although designed first, the bridge was the second such bridge constructed; a similar yet shorter welded railway bridge was designed and build a few months earlier in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing and holds the record for the first welded bridge of any type in the world.
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Wikipedia