Jokikylä bridge in Oulu

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, Head of Construction at NYAB.

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. There are several rapids in the river, and valuable migratory fish migrate to the river from the sea. 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.”