After the successful load test on Saturday, the new Pesnica railway viaduct opened to traffic yesterday. The 912.6-meter-long railway viaduct, the longest in Slovenia, is part of the new, 3.73-kilometer section of the railway line between Počehova and Pesnica.The new Pesnica viaduct, located near Maribor in Slovenia, is a relatively low, double-track railway viaduct. It is designed as a series of frame structures connected into an integral structure without bearings. This design concept allows the implementation of a continuous welded rail track (CWR) without expansion joints, with great advantages in terms of traffic safety, economy, sustainability and noise emissions.
»In terms of architectural design, the structural design is logic, transparent and neutral to the environment in its appearance. The concept of integral structure without bearings was used for the first time in Slovenia. When planning the viaduct, we came up to some innovative solutions, namely split columns, tensioning of segments from the center and demanding concrete pour of the viaduct decks«, said Dr. Viktor Markelj, partner and director of Ponting Bridges.
The integral structure was achieved by dividing the structure into segments 112 meters long (4 x 28 m) and a split column that shares a common bottom and foundation. The viaduct has been designed by Ponting Bridges, and Pomgrad built it. The construction began in October 2020.
The new viaduct and the nearby, 1,530-meter-long Pekel tunnel replaced the existing structures from 1846, which were part of the Austrian Southern Railway from Vienna to Trieste. Traffic will run on one track until the year 2030, when a second track will be added due to anticipated increased traffic.
Project details:
Railway Viaduct Pesnica
