The new Myllysilta bridge that will be constructed in Turku will have a modern stainless steel cladding. The cladding to be made out of Outokumpu duplex stainless steel will give an aesthetically beautiful impression to the city bridge scheduled for completion next autumn.
The Myllysilta bridge which is located in the city centre, started to sag downwards in March 2010 and had to be demolished. WSP won the design competition arranged by the city of Turku with their "Myllyn Teräs" (Mill Steel) bridge proposal, whose plain form is well suited to the urban environment.
The bridge to be constructed is a continuous beam bridge of composite structure, whose total length is 99 metres and effective width is 20 metres. The supporting structures will be manufactured from weatherproof steel and the lower and side surfaces of the bridge will be cladded with Outokumpu duplex stainless steel.
"When designing the bridge, appearance and life cycle costs played a central role. Because of Outokumpu's special stainless steel, the bridge will stay shiny with minimal maintenance and it will effectively conceal and protect the other construction elements, so that the appearance of the bridge remains stylish and modern, says Sami Niemelä, main designer and the head of the bridge department at WSP.
"Stainless steel has become increasingly popular as the construction material of choice for bridges. In bridge construction, service life and life cycle demands keep getting tougher as infrastructure maintenance is expensive for society. Interest in using stainless steel in construction keeps increasing due to its durability and long life cycle. Stainless steel is perfectly suited for construction where aesthetic requirements are important, says Risto Schildt from Outokumpu.
