The Počitelj Bridge, one of the most significant projects on the Vc Corridor, has unquestionable mechanical resistance and global stability, this is the conclusion of the meeting held today by representatives of the investor, the Public Enterprise Highway of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and representatives of other entities involved in the construction of this colossal project.
The meeting was held at the initiative of JP Highways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to obtain complete information about the cracks that appeared on one segment, 4.75 m long, out of almost 200 segments on the bridge, and to agree on a plan to eliminate the resulting damage. The conclusion is that in the next ten days, the work to eliminate these defects will be intensified.
In addition to acting the director of the investor, Denis Lasić, the meeting was also attended by the representatives of the contractor, consortium Azvirt Limited Liability Company, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and Powerchina Roadbridge Group, representatives of the subcontractor, the company Hering d.d. Široki Brijeg, and representatives of the supervisory authority of the Italian company IRD Engineering, which supervises the entire Počitelj – Zvirovići section, and representatives of the designer IPSA Institut d.o.o. Sarajevo. JP Autoceste FBiH, as an investor, signed a construction contract with the consortium of the aforementioned companies, which, after the 980 m long Počitelj bridge was connected by a span structure at the beginning of July, should be completed and put into traffic by the end of the year.
During the performance of works on the Počitelj bridge, damage (cracks appeared) occurred on the lower plate of segment 15 of the bridge between pillars S3 and S4, during the performance of prestressing work on the 2nd phase of field 4.
In the technical vocabulary, according to the performed analyses, it is shown that minor changes in the geometry of the cables can lead to significant increases in tensile stress in concrete. Irregularities in the positioning of cable ducts during construction create radial deflection forces that can lead to problems or the appearance of localized cracks.
“Considering that the execution of the main works on the Počitelj bridge is still in progress, the occurrence of such defects is not unusual considering the size and complexity of the project. The Superintending Engineer may order the contractor to remove and redo any work not in accordance with the Contract. In this case, the contractor will carry out and complete the works in accordance with the Contract and in accordance with the instructions of the supervising engineer, that is, eliminate all possible defects in the works. In accordance with the Agreement, the contractor is responsible for the appropriateness, stability and safety of all activities on the construction site and all construction methods. JP Autoceste FBiH will take over the project after the technical acceptance, with only correctly and qualitatively executed works in accordance with all the rules of the profession”, said Lasić.
