A load test was conducted on the Libeň Bridge

Prague - On Saturday, during load tests, two trams weighing 66 tons drove onto the Libeň Bridge in Prague. Weights were gradually added to the sidewalks. Subsequently, eight trucks, each weighing 41 tons, drove onto it. In total, the load on the bridge was 547 tons. The aim of the test is to determine the static condition of the bridge. This was reported to ČTK by the spokesperson of the Technical Road Administration (TSK), Barbora Lišková, and the director of the professional company Inset, Ludvík Hegrlík. The bridge will also be closed next Saturday for the tests.

The test involves five medium arch spans of the bridge over the Vltava River. The measurements focused on the second span on the Holešovice side and span number four. Experts first connected measuring devices to the bridge. Then, starting at 6:30 am, measurement without load began. Subsequently, trams drove onto it, and weights started to accumulate on the sidewalks.

"Then, trucks that are specially prepared for this, with a load capacity of 41 tons, will gradually drive onto it; there will be eight in total," said Hegrlík. Such heavy vehicles are normally not allowed to enter Prague, so the experts needed special permission. In the final phase, so-called dynamic tests will take place, which will involve driving trams over it.

"After reaching the maximum load of 500 tons, we began the crossings of trams. This combination of static and dynamic loading for testing bridges has been used for the first time in the Czech Republic," Hegrlík said during the afternoon.

According to Hegrlík, the load being tested will never occur in normal operation on the bridge. The test load was on the bridge for eight hours, during which experts will measure the bridge's behavior. The trucks, trams, and weights on the sidewalks must be positioned according to a project that specifies placement accuracy within centimeters. "Together with the surveyors, we have precisely defined the locations where the trucks and trams must arrive," Hegrlík said.

The Libeň Bridge is a complex consisting of a historic bridge over the Vltava River and a bridge over the floodplain area. The bridge, built in 1928, has never been repaired and is in poor condition. In the past, one load test was conducted on it, but only on the part over the floodplain near Palmovka.

Prague has long-standing problems with the condition of its bridges. At the beginning of December 2017, a pedestrian bridge between Císařský Island and Troja collapsed, injuring four people in the accident. Several bridges over the Vltava River are in poor condition, including the Hlávkův, Legií Bridge, and Palackého Bridge. The city, through the TSK, has begun diagnosing their condition.