Would the Danube's bridges in Bratislava withstand a boat impact?

Last month, a bridge in Baltimore, United States, collapsed after a cargo ship struck one of its pillars, resulting in six dead and more than a thousand tonnes of steel lost to the sea and leaving bridge engineers stunned.

SkryťTurn off ads

Article continues after video advertisement



SkryťTurn off ads

Article continues after video advertisement

If a boat were to hit Bratislava's Most Apollo and Starý Most bridges, it is very unlikely that such an event would seriously endanger them. Of the six Danube bridges in Bratislava, only Most SNP bridge does not have a pillar in the river.

"River boats have much smaller tonnage, on average up to 27,000 tonnes, compared to ocean ships which weigh approximately 100,000 tonnes," says Rudolf Ároch, head of the Department of Steel and Timber Structures of the Slovak University of Technology. According to him, the pillars of Bratislava bridges are strong enough.

SkryťTurn off ads
smeAdManager.cmd.push(function () {smeAdManager.mngr.display('gtg', 'article_body_1', 'article_body_1-responsive_1-26570');});

According to the expert, when it comes to bridges, the bigger concern is age and little investment in them.

"The generation of post-war bridges is nearing their end, in many cases built with inadequate technologies and the quality is not high," says Ároch.

Former transport minister Pavol Lančarič said last year that if the state does not invest more in their repair, most bridges will be inadequate by 2031. In Bratislava, SNP Bridge is in the worst condition.

The Bratislava bridges
(11 photos)



Almost half the bridges crumbling

Based on the data collected between 2005 and 2021, of the 128 bridges located in the Bratislava Region, almost half are in poor or very poor condition.

The data shows that over 16 years, the number of bridges in very good condition has fallen from 18 to 0 and the number of bridges in good condition from 64 to 15. Conversely, the number of bridges in poor condition has risen from 4 to 23 and those in very poor condition from 0 to 27.

You have just exceeded the number of devices allowed.
Your active subscription only allows a limited number of browsers to access locked content.
To continue reading this article on this device/browser, please edit the list of registered devices in your profile settings here:


manage devices


You can read all about device management here.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk Subscribe now for full access

Subscriptionfor 4 weeks
4 €
Buy


Subscriptionfor 1 years44,90 €
Buy


Subscriptionfor 2 years
79,90 €
Buy

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk


















Bratislava


Bratislava places in top 10 Eastern European airports



Hop on a tram to explore Bratislava more quickly



Slovaks are spending more on lunch deals in restaurants