A Cable-Stayed Footbridge Made of Glued-Laminated Wood – Design, Erection and Experimental Investigations

The presented footbridge, with a main span length of 90 m, is one of the longest cable-stayed bridge structures made of glued-laminated wood. The footbridge joins two countries, Poland and Slovakia, and has been erected in a very attractive tourist area. Inhabitants waited for a footbridge almost 100 years, from 1914 to 2006. On 12 August 2006 about 1000 people (inhabitants and tourists) took part in the Opening Ceremony. On the last Sunday of summer holidays 2006 about 11000 pedestrians crossed the border during one day, as notified by the frontier police. It shows, how this footbridge is important in this region. The design and erection processes as well as experimental investigations concerning dynamical behaviour of this footbridge are described in this paper.