A pedestrian and cycling bridge being built in Sölvesborg community in
south-east part of Sweden owes its eye-catching appearance to three supporting
60-metre long bridge arches which are manufactured from 150 tons of Outokumpu duplex stainless
steel.
Sölvesborg bridge
The key reason for choosing the material for the bridge arches according to
Ronny Södergren, managing director of Stål & Rörmontage AB responsible for
the construction of the bridge, was the overall life-cycle costs associated with
the structure. Because stainless steel, contrary to carbon steel, doesn’t
require surface treatment and only minor maintenance, the benefits of using
duplex are significant both from economic as well as environmental
perspective.
“We can avoid repainting costs associated with the bridge arches and rails
every 15th year. Ultimately this means approximately a 500 000 euro calculative
saving in maintenance costs with 2012 price levels”, says Ronny Södergren.
Avoided maintenance also brings about another advantage as Sölvesborg community
avoids the problem associated with epoxy painting residue and sand blasting
resulting from maintenance operations having a negative impact on a nearby bird
conservation area.
The high strength of LDX 2101® also enables lighter weight design. Less
material is needed for the bridge arches which ultimately mean lower
environmental impact of the whole structure. Additional benefit, especially for
the customer, is the better price stability of duplex stainless steel since the
low nickel content makes it less dependent on the raw material price
fluctuations compared to standard austenitic stainless steels like 1.4301 and
1.4404. These steels are affected approximately 10 times more by nickel prices
changes.
“Simply put, the customer gets ‘more bridge for the money spent’ with duplex
steel”, says Anders Finnås who is responsible for the building and construction
segment at Outokumpu in Degerfors, Sweden. “Better price stability together with
the effective use of the material provides overall a very cost-efficient and
attractive design.”
The bridge will be 756 meters long in total and is estimated to be ready by
December 2012. The bridge connects the center of Sölvesborg, with the new
district called Ljungaviken Listerlandet.