Europa - Bridges

At the beginning of the 18th century, after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession and the war against the Ottoman Empire, the conditions to revive the economy and trading in the area of Croatia were met creating a need to connect Pannonia with the coastal area by a road through the mountainous area of Gorski kotar. In 1718, the Croatian Parliament approved the proposal to build a road from Karlovac through Novigrad na Dobri, Delnice, and Javornik to the port in Kraljevica. However, the construction started a while later, in 1725, and was fully completed in 1738. The designer and builder of the road named Via Carolina Augusta, today known as Karolinska cesta, was Matija Antun Weiss (1661 – 1738). The road was named after the ruling emperor, Charles IV, who personally traveled the passable section of the route in 1728. The road is around 60 miles or roughly 106 km long and the planned costs were 70,000 forints. In order to cross over certain streams and rivers, several bridges had to be built on the road, typically wooden constructions on stone columns and abutments.

Among the bridges on the River Dobra, the bridge near Novigrad na Dobri especially stands out. It was built using cut stone. The bridge is located in a tame valley of the river not too far from a castle built on a hill at the beginning of the 16th century. It was owned by the Frankopan, Zrinski, and Patačić families. According to some accounts regarding bridge tolls, there was a wooden bridge prior to this one in the same location.

The bridge is 114.5 m long, and 5.8 m wide and it crosses the river with 10 semi-circular arches with a span of 4.9 m. The columns are massive and harmoniously shaped with pronounced extents. The fences are made of stone, 0.5 m wide and 0.6 to 0.75 m high. The bridge grade level is convex with the highest point in the middle of the bridge. In terms of the layout, the bridge is perpendicular to the river flow. It is an interesting fact that, according to some accounts, the owners of the castle and the surrounding properties had to finance the bridge construction even though the road was financed by the Viennese court.

The bridge is a valuable monument to the bridge building skill and it is in relatively good condition considering that it is more than 250 years old and a protected cultural monument.

The bridge on the River Dobra can be reached from an exit on the Zagreb – Rijeka Highway 1 at the Novigrad junction and then by a local road leading to Novigrad na Dobri. 

The Franjo Tuđman Bridge (Croatian: Most dr. Franje Tuđmana) is a cable-stayed bridge carrying the D8 state road at the western approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia across Rijeka Dubrovačka near Port of Gruž. The original bridge design was developed in 1989; however, construction was stopped at the onset of the Croatian War of Independence. Named after the 1st President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman, the bridge has been redesigned by the Structures Department of the University of Zagreb.

The bridge is 518-meter (1,699 ft) long, measured between the abutments. The substructure of the bridge consists of abutments, a pier on the western shore supporting a pretensioned girder, and an anchoring pier on the eastern shore.

The supported structure on the cable-stayed portion of the bridge consists of a composite girder, an A-shaped pylon, and the cable-stays. The overall span of the girder is 324.7 m (1,065 ft). Concrete roadway slab is of the generally constant depth of 25 cm (10 in). A total of 38 cable stays have been executed, comprising 27 to 61 steel wire cables placed in protective polyethylene pipes.

The pylon is 141.5 m (464 ft) tall, measured from the top surface of the foundations. It comprises a box cross-section of varying sizes. An additional box girder is executed just below the suspended structure providing it additional support as well as bracing the pylon legs. The cable stays are anchored to the top of the pylon. A special opening has been executed in one of the pylon legs, next to the sidewalk, providing access to the inside of its cross-section, where there are rungs facilitating climbing to the top of the pylon, where another opening on its top allows replacements of the anchors, should that become necessary.

The western part of the bridge comprises a pretensioned girder of variable depth 3.25 m (10.7 ft) at the abutment, 8.22 m (27.0 ft) at the pier, and 3.2 m (10 ft) at the end of the cantilever.

Construction of the bridge started in October 1998. The construction works were carried out by Walter Bau AG and Konstruktor, Split. Construction was completed in April 2002, and the bridge was officially opened on May 21, 2002. The bridge construction costs were reportedly 252 million Croatian kuna (c. US$31 million) making Franjo Tuđman Bridge the most expensive bridge in Croatia.

Stamp Issue: 2018.05.02

Bridges and viaducts

VIADUKT “MODRUŠ 1” ON HIGHWAY A1 (ZAGREB- SPLIT-DUBROVNIK)

Viaduct „Modruš1“ is the first and the longest in the row of three viaducts of the same name at the road section Ogulin- Brinje of the Highway A1 Zagreb-Split- Dubrovnik, at approach to the tunnel Mala Kapela. The object is situated near the settlement and the ruin of the old town of Modruš which once was also the seat of the Modruška County and can be seen from the right side when driving toward Brinje. The viaduct bridges a deep valley at the height up to 50 m from the lowest point of the valley and has a total length of 516 m and a total width of 31.5 m, enabling thus in standard profile the traffic on highway in both driving directions. Due to that many drivers even do not notice that they have crossed over a remarkable road construction building. In order to get an impression of the size of this viaduct one should exit to a parallel state road D23. The construction actually consists of two parallel, almost identical viaducts each serving one driving direction, which are transversally interconnected for the purpose of checking and maintenance. The levelling line of the viaduct is ascending 4.8% toward the tunnel Mala Kapela. The viaduct consists of 13 sections with centre-to-centre distances of the props (pillars): 38+11x40+38m = 516m. Particular construction spans consist of four prestressed ferroconcrete pillars with coffer cross-section, 2.2 m high and 37 m long, interconnected with a roadway slab. Particular span constructions lean on beam heads of pillars, by means of separate bearings.
The lower structure of the viaduct consists of abutments and pillars based on laminated ferroconcrete foundations, in consideration of rocky basic grounds. The foundations of pillars are 10.0x8.0x2.0 m. The abutments with parallel wings are based in the similar way. The pillars of the viaduct are hollow, of outer cross-section of 2.4 x5.4 m and with the wall thickness of 0.3 m. Used materials are ferroconcrete and prestressed concrete.
The project of the viaduct was made by IGH-Institute for Concrete and Masonry Structures, the designers were Gordana Trogrlić-Uzelac, Stjepan Kralj and Dr. Sc. Petar Sesar. It was built by the company Bechtel-Enka with participation of Croatian companies. The viaduct was opened for traffic in 2005 on the occasion of opening of the A1 Zagreb- Split Highway.

BRIDGE “KRKA” ON HIGHWAY A1 (ZAGREB-SPLIT-DUBROVNIK)

The River Krka, a jewel among rivers of the Adriatic drainage area, probably the most beautiful and attractive among them and well known for its waterfalls, was bridged when the A1 Highway was built, at a point few kilometres downstream from the town of Skradin by an impressive arch bridge. The bridge is located between the nods Skradin and Šibenik, and immediately behind it there is a rest area with a restaurant and viewpoint, from where the view of the bridge and the town of Skradin can be enjoyed. Especially attractive is the view at the bridge for yachtsmen heading to Skradin. The total length of the bridge is 391 m, the width is 22.5 m and it rises 66 meters above the sea level. The main span construction of the bridge over the river Krka is a hollow ferroconcrete arch of 204 m, i.e. 4 m bigger than the bridge of Maslenica (200 m). The cross-section of the arch is 3x10m, with the walls of 0.5 m. As much as 2988 m3 of concrete and 747 t of reinforcement have been built into the bridge, which was constructed according to cantilever principle and with cable support. The structure of the bridge above arch is composed of the grid of steel longitudinal and cross beams with cantilever projections and with rim beams. The longitudinal beams are coffered with cross-section of 0.75x1.7 m and a span of 32 i.e. 28 m. On the described grid a ferroconcrete slab of roadway of 25 cm has been laid. The described structure above arch contains 1700 tonnes of steel, 2172 m3 of concrete and 630 tonnes of reinforcement and it leans on the terrain and the arch of the bridge, by means of pillars reaching up to 55 m. The pillars are of hollow cross-section varying from 3.2x2.5 to 1.8x2.2 m in dependence of their height. Each pillar position has two equal pillars.
It should be pointed out that in the construction of this bridge rational technical solutions have been applied which have made possible – by respecting all prescribed conditions - a savings on the total mass of the object of 35 % in relation to almost identical Maslenica bridge.
The designer of the bridge was Dr. sc .Zlatko Šavor, the supervisor was IGH Zagreb - Dr.sc. Z. Marić, and the bridge was built in the period 2002- 2005 by the company “Konstruktor inženjering Inc.” from Split with the steel part built by the company “Đuro Đaković Ltd.” from Slavonski Brod. The bridge was opened to traffic together with the opening to traffic of the highway Zagreb –Split in 2005.

Stamp Issue: 2015.04.23

Historical Bridge

Kesik Bridge (Sivas): Kesik Bridge is one of the best examples of Anatolian Seljukian architecture tradition, located over Kizilirmak in the route of Ancient Sivas-Kayseri road and was built by Seljukian State in 1292. The bridge has a length of 326,36 meters and width of 4,95 meters; the bridge is completely built with cut stones. The biggest arch span is 7,90 meters long. The bridge consists of two parts; its Sivas side has 17 niches and its Kayseri side has 2 niches.

 Clandiras Bridge (Usak): Clandiras Bridge is an important passage between the past and the future constructed in the area of Phrygians, located over Banaz Stream in Karahalli district of Usak province. The bridge is approximately 2500 years old. Bridge which has a structure with pulley shaped arch with one niche, has a width of 1,75 meters and length of 24 meters and depth of 17 meters. The stone surfaces of the bridge constructed over the strong stones and placed on semi-waist of the rocks of the mountain are engraved and big stones of the arches are clamped into each other.

Stamp Issue: 2014.04.10

New River Gorge Bridge

The stamp features the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette County, West Virginia, and is based on a digital illustration by Dan Cosgrove of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, depicting the bridge as sunset approaches.

One of the highest bridges in the United States, the bridge features a 1,700-foot span that is the longest steel arch in the Western Hemisphere. The Washington Monument could fit under its 876-foot arch with more than 100 yards to spare.

 

The two-hinged deck arch spans a gorge that, before its completion in 1977, required drivers 40 minutes to navigate because of narrow and winding roads. The steel and concrete bridge weighs more than 88 million pounds. Its unpainted, weathering steel oxidizes with age and becomes a rustic brown color that blends the bridge into its rugged surroundings. 

Held on the third Saturday of October, New River Gorge Bridge Day draws more than 100,000 people, including hundreds of rappellers, who descend down the bridge on ropes, and BASE (building, antenna, span, and earth) jumpers

Stamp Issue: 2011.04.11

Bixby Creek Bridge

With the blue waters of the Pacific rolling out below and the rugged mountains of Santa Lucia in the background, the Bixby Creek Bridge carries travelers toward their destinations. The California landmark also connects people with nature. 

Completed in 1932, the Bixby Creek Bridge introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, California.  Prior to its opening, travelers endured rough wagon roads.  The 30-mile round-trip journey from Monterey to Big Sur used to take 3 days.  The bridge has improved travel and opened up tourism to the region.  

Bixby Bridge is a tourist destination in itself.  Using Art Deco style, the sweeping arch and slender columns make it appear part of the natural landscape.  Rather than cut through the countryside, Bixby was purposely designed to preserve and complement it.  The two large pillars are set wide apart, allowing Bixby Creek to run its natural course.  The columns are also set directly into the canyon wall, reducing the amount of excavation needed.

Bixby Creek Bridge is one of the most recognizable landmarks in California.  Spanning Rainbow Canyon, the bridge combines art, conservation, and function.  Its beauty is matched only by the ocean waves crashing on the sandy shores below.

Stamp Issue: 2010.02.03

Europa 2012 - Visit Mostar

Mostar is a city in the valley of the River Neretva, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the economic, cultural, educational, commercial and tourist centre of Herzegovina. Numerous archeological sites confirm that the broader area of Mostar has been inhabited since the Early Eneolitich, while during the Roman rule the area was inhabited by Illyrian tribes.
The city was named after bridge keepers (natively: mostari) who guarded wooden bridge which connected two banks of the River Neretva and for the first time the name Mostar is mentioned in the 15th century. After the fall of Bosnia under the Ottoman Empire, the Turks built the stone bridge in 1566, today famous as the Old Bridge. After the Berlin congress in 1878, the Turkish administration was removed by Austro-Hungarian administration. The valuable cultural monuments, oriental style buildings and Austro-Hungarian buildings have remained from that period which makes Mostar beautiful and interesting city.

The Old Bridge was destroyed during the terrible destructions in the last war from 1992 till 1996. It was renovated in 2004 and in 2005 it was included in the UNESCO list of protected monuments of cultural heritage as the first monument from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Lodge „Herceg Stjepan Kosaca“, the center of cultural events of the city of Mostar, was built in 1959/1960. It is named after the ruler of Herzegovina, Duke Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca (around 1404-1466).
Today, Mostar is beautiful and hospitable city that enriches the different cultures and traditions with its beauty that makes it the city of open doors.

Stamp Issue: 2012.04.05

The Peace Bridge

The Peace Bridge has been significant in the growth of the country. It crosses the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The stamp commemorates more than a century of friendship, trade, and peace between the United States and Canada. The two nations share the longest undefended border in the world. New advances in construction have been used.

The Peace Bridge was built for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Clearance at one end of the span is for canal or ship movement. The bridge is made up of five steel arches and a single truss span. At the elaborate opening ceremonies in 1927 a number of luminaries attended, including Edward, Prince of Wales.

Stamp Issue: 1977

The Mississippi River Bridge

The Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis was constructed from 1867 to its opening in 1874. The structure was built by Captain James Buchanan Eads, and is considered the first bridge made of steel. The U.S. Postal Service preferred to attach the sobriquet "Mississippi River Bridge" rather than employ the proper, personal, private name "Eads."

The span is double deck, with the upper level carrying a highway with sidewalks. On the lower deck, two lines of railroad tracks fill the space. This marks the first time steel is used in truss-bridge construction. A franchise was obtained from Congress specifying that a clear span of 500 feet must be provided. A report, published by Captain Eads in 1868, was a convincing presentation in non-technical language, on the "action of trusses and arches, also the logic of the foundation design." Progress, along with precautionary measures, were recorded in notebooks that filled seven volumes.
Funding for the Bridge building came from contracts with the Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Vice President was a young man of 35 years by the name of Andrew Carnegie. His connections with Eads were numerous. In his autobiography, completed shortly before his death, Carnegie credited his connection with Eads Bridge as starting him on his career. To this day the span is in full use.

Stamp Issue: 1898

Reconstruction of the old bridge in Mostar

The Mostar Bridge is one of the greatest masterpieces of structural engineering of the Ottoman times. It is part of the oldest nucleus of the town and has great environmental value in its urbanistic structure. Its specific position is harmonized with the natural configuration of the terrain, while its architectural value has been achieved by the usage of basic structural elements. The surrounding mountains leave a deep impression on the viewers, together with the deep river bed of the blue-green river Neretva and the houses characterized by the typical ambiance significance for the 15th and 16th centuries. The oldest written document about medieval Mostar dates back to the 15th century, before the advent of the Ottoman Empire’s administrative management. The document was the work of Duke Stjepan Radivoj, (a Herzegovian nobleman). Little is known about the building of the bridge. What remained written are only memories and legends, as well as the name of the great architect Hayruddin. Even nowadays, when parts of the bridge have been rescued from the Neretva and examined all the constituent parts of the bridge, there still remains the mystery of how the scaffolding was built, how the stone got transported from one side of the river to the other, how the scaffolding endured the long period of construction, as well as numerous other “minute” constructional problems, those that we encounter nowadays despite the usage of the most modern technologies at our disposal. This speaks for the high quality of the builder’s expertise, his idea, never to be repeated or written down but realized in a work that doubtlessly belongs to the greatest engineering undertakings of its time. There were no archaeological finds to be discovered in the position where the present bridge with its towers fortifying it on both banks stand, which might draw to the conclusion that the bridge with its fortifications and the settlement that belongs to it could be dated to earlier periods than the Late Middle Ages. The fortifications together with the bridge were invaded by the Ottoman Turks round 1470, and there they organized a military outpost for further military attacks in western Herzegovina and Dalmatia. During the time of Ottoman administration, near the fortifications on the bridge, particularly on the left bank of the Neretva, a trading-crafts centre started developing, the origin of today’s Mostar. The suspension bridge built in the Middle Ages continued to connect the two banks of the river Neretva, and the Turks continued using it until the middle of the 16th century. Along the rather ramshackle wooden suspension bridge, in 1557, due to the order of Sultan Suleiman ‘the Magnificent’, the construction of the single span, stone arch bridge was built according to the project of the then supreme Turkish architect Kodja Mimar Sinan, and by the year 1566 it was erected and completed by his pupil and assistant Mimar Hayruddin. The medieval towers on the banks that guarded the approach to the bridge from both sides of the river, were reconstructed and extended many times, at the time of the Ottoman administration and particularly at the time of the Candian war, but basically retained all their essential elements that they had been given, probably in the 15th century, by their medieval builders. Around the Old Bridge a community developed that was to become a trading and crafts centre.

During the period of the last fifty years, this site was subjected to numerous conservation and archaeological research undertakings. The conservation work was supposed to examine and restore damage on the bridge and its accompanying towers, as well as check on the data about their building that were partially preserved in the reports of the later travel writers and some scattered historical sources. In the course of the research and the restoration work, the foundations of the bridge and the river banks have been underpinned and consolidated, and the supportive parts of the bridge, together with the support pillars have been injected. The bridge arch has also been injected, and the damaged stone blocks exchanged. Lesser damage was repaired by mortar mixed from white cement and ground limestone that was used in building the bridge.

The Old Bridge in Mostar was destroyed by shelling in November 1993, in the course of the recent wartime events. Its rebuilding began in the year 2002 under the auspices of the World Bank and the Bank for Development of the Council of Europe, with funds donated by countries like Italy, Turkey, Croatia, The Netherlands and France. After two years since the beginning of its restoration and almost 15 million US dollars spent, the work is approaching its end. The main responsibility lay upon the Turkish company ERBU, specialized for the restoration of Ottoman bridges, working under permanent supervision of specialized Croatian companies and experts. From the oldest times up to the present, the Old Bridge has remained the symbol of Mostar. The bridge also remains a permanent attraction for the population as well as tourists. The tradition of taking jumps from the top of the arch into the river also remains a symbol that will be transferred to future generations.

Stamp Issue: 2004.07.23

Technical Monuments - Historic bridge in Písek

The Stone Bridge in Písek (also known as the Stag Bridge) is the oldest still-standing stone bridge in Bohemia. The bridge, spanning the Otava river, was the second stone bridge in Bohemia (after the already not existing Judith bridge in Prague). The exact date of its building is unknown, but the style is gothic. It was first mentioned in writing in 1348 when Charles IV ordered the town councilors to use fines collected in the town for the maintenance of the bridge. A couple of gates with towers protected the bridge as well as the present historic town center on either side. The left-hand tower was destroyed by the flood of 1768, and the other one succumbed to wear and tear in 1825. The bridge is adorned by copies of the original, mostly 18th-century baroque sculptures and the Cavalry. The 6.5m wide structure, slightly bulging up the river, consists of six arches spanning 111 meters, built on pillars with an upward save edge. The normal height above the water level is 5.5m. As one of the few medieval bridges, still standing and used in Central Europe, the stone bridge is a unique rarity.

Stamp Issue: 2010.10.20

25th Anniversary of CEPT - Portugal

In 1984 CEPT (Conference Europeenne des Administrations des Postes et des Telecomunications) celebretes its 25th annversary. The CEPT was formed in 1959 in Montreux in Switzerland and it is an organization at administrative level.

The CEPT member countries issue EUROPA stamps every year with a common theme. For the 25th anniversary they also have the same motif: a bridge symbolizing communications, exchange and connection.

Stamp Issue: 1984-05-05

25th Anniversary of CEPT - Norway

In 1984 CEPT (Conference Europeenne des Administrations des Postes et des Telecomunications) celebretes its 25th annversary. The CEPT was formed in 1959 in Montreux in Switzerland and it is an organization at administrative level.

The CEPT member countries issue EUROPA stamps every year with a common theme. For the 25th anniversary they also have the same motif: a bridge symbolizing communications, exchange and connection.

Stamp Issue: 1984-04-30