A 10 in the Liesertal

“Construction site is challenging for us experts”

Work on the new bridge is taking place under the old bridge.

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

The workers on the A 10 bridge renovation in Liesertal have already had to overcome a few hurdles, as a "Krone" site inspection shows.

It is probably one of the most exciting bridge construction sites in the whole of Austria. It is no coincidence that young professionals show great interest in visiting the freeway bridge, which was lifted a total of six meters into the air over a total length of 600 meters at Trebesing.

To passing motorists, the construction section looks spectacular, but rather deserted and quiet. But appearances are deceptive. A look under the raised bridge shows: Work is in full swing here!

New variant brings extreme time delay
However, the work on the Steinbrückenbach bridge between Spittal and Gmünd is proving to be anything but easy for the employees of the Austrian-Italian consortium.

As reported several times, the valley crossing has to be completely demolished and renewed in both directions, right down to the piers. Work has been underway since 2023 and should have been completed in 2027/28. But that's probably not going to happen. "We are behind schedule," says project manager Josef Heiß and gives a justified reason for this: "A renovation is being carried out here that has never been done before in Austria," explains the Asfinag employee. In the completely new variant, which is intended to save resources, the 6500-ton bridge steel structure was lifted into the air all at once.

"Krone" editor Elisa Aschbacher visited the construction site

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

The new bridge is being built with the scaffolding

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

New hammerheads were concreted onto the piers.

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

The new concrete bridge is being built under the old steel bridge.

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

The new bridge is being concreted.

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

On the raised bridge

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

"The existing bridge is not being removed as usual, but rather serves as a support for the new construction taking place underneath," explains Michael Egger, construction supervisor at engineering firm HPC IBK, adding: "We simply lack certain reference values. New questions keep coming up, there were structural issues to deal with and it was constantly being re-examined." On the other hand, things should "progress more quickly in the Salzburg direction because we have been able to gain experience." However, it could still take some time before direction two is tackled. "At the moment, the 40 or so employees are building the new supporting structure. We are working from pillar to pillar, eight in total, in the direction of Gmünd. For structural reasons, concrete always has to be poured in both directions away from the pillar at the same time."

"It currently takes a good two weeks for 15 meters. "We are trying to optimize this," says Gerald Ramsbacher from Asfinag. And so in future there will be even more workers than usual under the bridge at weekends. Next mega construction site on A10 imminentThere has been no traffic chaos so far, as many locals had feared. "Not even at busy travel times," says Heiß, referring to the safety facilities. "We have also installed our own towing service."

Next mega construction site on A10 imminent
What worries local residents at the thought of the time delay - a congested A10 in Liesertal. Because the next mega construction site, which is scheduled to last six years, is due in 2027. "The Katschberg and Tauern tunnels are to be renovated at a cost of 700 million euros - including replacing all the electronics. Tunnel tubes will have to be taken out of service," confirms Heiß, but also wants to reassure: "Four lanes will be available during peak travel times. So everything should run smoothly."