Viaduct versatility

A current viaduct construction project in Hungary has given mageba a chance to show the versatility of its products and services, with both structural bearings and expansion joints supplied from the company’s factories in Hungary and Slovakia and with fully assembled bearings quickly modified to accommodate changing requirements.

With production facilities in a number of countries around the world, we always like to manufacture our products for projects as locally as possible – whether bearings, expansion joints, dampers, seismic protection devices or anything else. At the same time, of course, the use of different factories often arises, thanks to the benefits of specialising in the fabrication of specific high-tech components in selected factories. So it was, for instance, when we were awarded the contract to supply spherical bearings and modular expansion joints for the construction of the new Vasszentmihályi Viaduct on Hungary’s M8 highway. Given the expertise of our Hungarian factory in fabricating spherical bearings, and of our nearby Slovakian factory in producing modular expansion joints, it was easy to assign the work to these facilities, with benefits to all concerned.

The curved viaduct, with its 10 spans and total length of 575 m, crosses the Valley of the Vörös-patak river. Construction of the box girder bridge began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2021. The bridge’s superstructure, which has already been constructed, is supported by 22 RESTON®SPHERICAL bearings, designed in accordance with the Hungarian technical regulation for roads (Útügyi Műszaki Előírás) with a vertical load capacity of 11,500 kN and delivered with the European CE label. The bearings were installed by mageba, following eleventh-hour modifications to the fully manufactured bearings to accommodate changes in the bridge’s construction – modifications that were implemented in just ten days, demonstrating the versatility of the product and of mageba’s design and fabrication processes.

In addition to the bearings, two TENSA®MODULAR expansion joints have also been designed and manufactured for the bridge – this time in mageba’s Slovakian factory, just across the border from Hungary. These expansion joints, one for each end of the viaduct, were each designed with five movement gaps to accommodate total movements of up to 400 mm. The installation of the expansion joints has been scheduled for spring of 2021.

This is the kind of project experience we really enjoy. We know that bridge design and construction projects rarely run from start to finish without unexpected developments and changes to the most meticulously made plans, and often these changes are necessitated by valuable improvements to the entire process. So when changes arise, we welcome this as an opportunity to show what we can do – how we can support our clients, solve problems and add value to their projects, in ways we think help us to stand out from other suppliers. Allow us to demonstrate this on your next project!

Bridge / Building designer: UNITEF’ 83 Zrt. és FŐMTERV Zrt.
Contractor: A-Híd Zrt
Owner: Nemzeti Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt.

The 575m-long viaduct carries the Hungarian M8 motorway across a valley

(©Magyar Építők)

The viaduct’s superstructure is supported by 22 RESTON®SPHERICAL bearings, two at each pier or abutment

(©Magyar Építők)

One of the RESTON®SPHERICAL structural bearings during installation, before the superstructure is rested on it

Alternative view of a RESTON®SPHERICAL bearing during installation, showing its movement scale