Bridge SNP (Bratislava)

The bridge was built in 1967 - 1972 by the organizations Doprastav Bratislava and Gutne Montazh Ostrava, designed by architects Josef Lacko, Ladislav Kushnir, Ivan Slamen, Arpad Tesar and Josef Zvar. It was put into operation on August 26, 1972 . For its construction, a significant part of the Bratislava Underground was destroyed, in particular, almost the entire Jewish quarter, which was received with displeasure by the inhabitants of Bratislava. Nevertheless, the transport situation was significantly improved (and, therefore, development accelerated) in a large residential area of Petrzhalka . In 2005 - 2006, due to heavy pollution, pedestrian and bicycle paths were coated. In 2006, such a coating was also applied to the supports.

The steel bridge is suspended on one support with a height of 84.6 m. The total length of the bridge is 430.8 m. The spacing pattern is 74.8 + 303 + 54 m. The weight of the span is 7537 tons. The total height from the base to the top is 95 m. The diameter of the dome is 32 m. The beam of the span of the building is two-sectional, its width is 12.6 m, its height is 4.6 m. Consoles 4.2 m in length are suspended from two sides of it ^{[1 ]} . Thus, the total width of the bridge is 21 m. There are four lanes for the movement of vehicles on the bridge, underneath on each side are pedestrian and bicycle paths. The width of the sidewalks is 3.2 m. The SNP Bridge immediately after opening in 1972 took 4th place in the list of suspension bridges in the world. In the subcategory of suspension bridges with one support or with one suspension plane, he still remains the world leader. In the category of bridges with an inclined support, it is in third place.

The main attraction is the restaurant at the top of the pylon at an altitude of 85 m called UFO watch.taste.groove., Formerly called “Bystrica”. It is connected to the observation deck. An elevator leads to it in the left support of the bridge, and in the right there is an emergency exit with 430 steps. UFO is considered one of the dominant features of the city and a tourist attraction; 200 thousand visitors visit it annually. Inside the bridge there is a water supply system supplying water to the Old Town and Petrzalka. When constructing the bridge, a calculation error was discovered, so I had to make additional support on the left bank, as a result of which its main span was shortened to 303 m.

Lighting of the bridge was previously carried out by 3 thousand lamps located on the railing of the bridge, now 52 special mast lamps are installed for this.

The SNP bridge served as a model for the construction of the cable-stayed bridge in Riga across the Western Dvina River . A similar but symmetrical design has a smaller bridge in Heinburg an der Donau .

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to SOR Bridge in Bratislava
• The site of the restaurant "UFO" located on the observation deck of the bridge (words.)
• The article “New Bridge in Bratislava”

• Construction and design of cable-stayed bridges. W. Podolny, J. Scalzi. 1989