We asked the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways about the matter. As GDDKiA explains, the bridge is currently being demolished mechanically.
Excavators equipped with demolition hammers are being used for the work. The structure consists primarily of concrete and reinforcing steel.
GDDKiA emphasizes that before the current stage of demolition began, elements that could potentially pose a threat to the environment were removed. These included, among other things, the bituminous surface, insulation, footway caps and the remaining bridge equipment.
What about the rubble that ends up in the river?
GDDKiA admits that during mechanical demolition, an individual structural element may accidentally fall into the water.
Magdalena Szumiata of GDDKiA:
The work currently underway involves the mechanical demolition of the reinforced-concrete bridge structure using excavators with demolition hammers. The structure being demolished consists of concrete and reinforcing steel. Materials such as the bituminous surface, insulation, footway caps and the remaining elements of the bridge equipment, which could potentially pose a threat to the environment, have been removed.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that an individual element falls into the river, but the contractor removes it immediately. For this purpose, the contractor has a boat used to collect on an ongoing basis any elements that end up in the water.
All work is carried out under constant construction and environmental supervision, which includes, among other things, checking the condition of the riverbed, the unobstructed flow and the method of removing the rubble.
The demolition of the old bridge is part of an investment involving the reconstruction of the road system in this area of Bolesławiec.
Wody Polskie will investigate this following an intervention by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection.
