Skarta and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Lapland signed an extensive contract on the Jokikylä bridge in Oulu
17.06.22Skarta, a builder of a clean future, was awarded the contract for the construction of the Jokikylä bridge over the River Kiiminkijoki in Oulu. The bridge is the largest investment project this year in the area of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Ostrobothnia. The protected River Kiiminkijoki is an important water body for migratory fish, and the construction project takes environmental considerations into account throughout the project.
Skarta will build and renovate approximately 60 bridges this year. The Jokikylä bridge project in Oulu is the largest of them. The customer is the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Lapland, and the contract was signed at the end of May. Multi-stage work will begin in June, and the new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in August 2023. The project price is approximately EUR 5.1 million.
During the project, a completely new bridge over the River Kiiminkijoki will be built to replace the existing bridge located on the connecting road Mt 8460. Before that, a detour bridge will be built and the old bridge will be demolished to make way for the new one. The Jokikylä bridge is located on a road that connects the main roads 20 and 4 and it serves as a route for oversized transport. This means that tall vehicles have been diverted to this route, resulting in plenty of heavy traffic. This has been taken into account when designing the structures of the new bridge.
“We will build a two-lane bridge, which also has a section for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The bridge will be 120 metres long and 13.5 metres wide. It is a composite girder bridge with a steel frame and a concrete deck. The old bridge is made entirely of concrete and dates back to 1965, which means it is 57 years old. The expected service life of the new bridge built by us is 100 years, nearly double that,” says Antti Nissinen, Site Manager at Skarta.
The decision to build a new bridge was based on the aim to improve the safety and flow of vehicle traffic and bicycle and pedestrian traffic. In addition, the seasonal fluctuation of the water level of the River Kiiminkijoki has been taken into account in the engineering phase.
The River Kiiminkijoki is a 170-kilometre long, undeveloped, free-flowing river that flows into the Gulf of Bothnia in the Oulu region. [It is part of the international Project Aqua water protection programme.] There are several rapids in the river, and valuable migratory fish migrate to the river from the sea. Skarta is a builder of a clean future, and Nissinen describes the special features of the bridge project over the river as follows:
“We monitor the water body carefully to avoid causing any harm to it. We collect samples before the start of the project, during construction and after the project is completed. The demolition of the old bridge will also be carried out with caution. Some of its surface structures require special arrangements and will be removed in accordance with hazardous materials removal procedures to protect the environment.”
For further information, please contact:
Antti Nissinen
Site Manager
Skarta Finland Oy
+358 40 739 1926
antti.nissinen@skarta.fi
