Introduction

The design of a new road bridge joining Sweden and Norway across the Ide fjord at Svinesund is a result of an international architectural design contest. The winning design is an elegant but structurally complicated bridge as it combines a very slender construction with a special structural form. The structure, when built, will be the world’s largest single-arched bridge. The bridge is also unconventional due to the position of the first columns closest to the arch which usually spring from the foundations of the arch. However, in this structure the columns have been positioned further away. This combination of a single arch and the position of the first columns has meant that the bridge is susceptible to problems of instability both during the construction phase and during the service life of the bridge. The bridge will form a part of the European highway, E6, which is the main route for all road traffic between Gothenburg and Oslo and currently has an Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) of 8000 vehicles, whereof 15 % are heavy goods vehicles.

An artist’s impression of the New Svinesund Bridge joining Sweden and Norway. The main span is a single arch with a bridge deck on either side of the arch.

Due to the uniqueness of the design and the importance of the bridge it was decided to monitor the bridge, both during the construction phase and during a minimum of the first 3-5 years of its service life. The monitoring programme has been developed under the close collaboration of the Swedish National Road Administration (Vägverket), the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen).

The new bridge, including the technical preparations, is to be built in 36 months. It will be opened in 2005 – 100 years to the day after the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway. In 2003, the work will focus on completing the arch, the supports and the superstructure on the southern side. In 2004, the superstructure will be completed, together with all the construction work associated with the arch. In the spring of 2005, all the remaining work, including the surfacing, will be completed.