The cable-stayed bridge in Sieradz (incorrectly called a suspension bridge by tourists and city inhabitants) was opened on May 2, 1979. It was designed by Z. Hotloś and built by Płock Bridge Building Company (Płockie Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Mostów). It had replaced the previous floating bridge. The construction was financed by Sieradz Municipal Sports Center (Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji w Sieradzu). Currently the bridge is called "The White Bridge" or "The Bridge Of Lovers".
The main span of the bridge is 75,88 m long while the tower is 43,5 m high and is located on the right bank of the Warta river. The tower is rigidly fixed to the main girders and is supported on the pillar by steel bearings. Main girders are steel I-beams 550 mm high, made of St37-2 steel, produced in a spanish steel factory - there are markings on the webs of the beams: "Made in Spain" and ENSIDESA (Empresa Nacional Siderúrgica De España Sociedad Anónima). All the remaining elements of the steel structure, including the tower, were made of polish St3M steel grade. The cross beams are 525 mm castellated beams and 250 mm beams. Orthotropic deck consists of a 10 mm thick steel plate and longitudinal ribs made of 12x200 steel plates and the pavement is made of asphalt layer. The steel cables are 48 mm in diameter. In total there are 12 cables in triple harp system, that are fixed to the tower and anchored to the deck.
The cable-stayed bridge in Sieradz was one of the first bridges of this kind in Poland and until 1999 it had had the longest span in Poland that was suspended to one tower.
For the 40th anniversary of putting the footbridge into operation a commemorative booklet 40 Years of the Cable-Stayed Bridge in Sieradz 1979-2019 was published, describing history and structure of the bridge. On May 2, 2019, exactly on the 40th anniversary of opening the bridge, an outdoor event took place, organized by Sieradz Town Hall (with the help of local bridge-lovers) and combined with the celebration of Polish National Flag Day. After sunset the colourful ilumination of the bridge was launched. In mid-2019 a technical expertise revealed the need for closing the bridge for vehicle traffic and implementing the continuous monitoring of the footbridge due to technical condition of stay cables. The refurbishment of the bridge started in mid-February 2022.
TYPE: footbridge
CROSSES: Warta river
STRUCTURE: steel
Design: cable-stayed bridge
Main girders: I-beams 550 mm
GEOMETRY:
Number of spans: 5 (9,12+75,88+19,00+19,00+19,00 m)
Total span length: 142,00 m
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| View from the eastern side |
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| Support of the tower seen from left river bank |
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| Side view of tower support |
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| Detail of one of the stays |
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| Top stays fixed to the pylon |
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| Anchorage in the deck |
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| Anchorage of the cables in the pylon |
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| The base of the tower |
