Third Millennium bridge, Gdansk, Poland

Polish economic changes over the last number of years have created the necessity to develop, among other infrastructure, seaports. To date, goods' transport out of the Seaport in Gdansk to the country's interior has been by train. In current circumstances, reconstruction of the port is connected with the necessity to reconstruct the road network. In 1994 a project started with the aim of increasing the communication system's efficiency around Gdansk's seaport. The first element of this reconstruction is crossing the Martwa Wisla River. The crossing is about 1 km in length and connects the port areas with the national Warszawa - Gdansk road. This new route is based on its connection with the planned A1, which will by-pass the city. This designed crossing will constitute an element of the north-western ring of Gdansk. As presented, the investment necessary for the port appears profitable for the whole agglomeration of Gdansk. During the evaluation period, a cable-stayed bridge was selected. Among its advantages was the technical challenge (it is one of the first bridges of this type to be built in Poland), and economic factors. It was possible to construct a cable-stayed bridge because of its small constructional height, by shortening the access roads to the bridge and by eliminating the inclusion of lanes on the bridge, which would diminish its width. This is why the total cost of constructing a cable-stayed bridge is no larger than that for the construction of a typical bridge construction. An important factor regarding the advantages of a cable-stayed bridge is its foundation. Because of the significantly high costs of constructing supports in the river, which has such a strong current and the particular geologic conditions, it was decided to construct as few supports as possible in the river. Aesthetic factors should also be considered in parallel with economic factors. As a gateway to Gdansk, a cable-stayed bridge, with its architecture, fits well into the city.