Austrian bridge specialist MCE GmbH awarded for the turnkey reconstruction of the Kochchikade Bridge Sri Lanka
The old two lane Kochchikade Bridge was built in 1936 during Colonial Times to establish a continuous road link between the southern and northern part along the east coast of Sri Lanka. This road link, named Paliyagoda – Puttalam Road (A3), is one of the trunk roads of Sri Lanka connecting several highly populated cities along this corridor. The existing bridge got structurally weak over the decades and exceeded its structural design life. Therefore, the replacement of the Kochchikade Bridge became unavoidable and was a substantial contribution to keep up the A3 highway infrastructure connecting Colombo with Puttalam.
Under a soft loan financing, provided by OeKB, the Austrian Export Credit Agency, the Sri Lankan Road Development Authority (RDA) awarded the project for the turnkey reconstruction to MCE GmbH, an Austrian based bridge specialist. To cover the high traffic volumes as well as to ensure the durability of the structure, a truss girder bridge with composite deck has been designed based on Eurocode standards, considering a 100-year lifetime, covering four traffic lanes and walkways on either side of the bridge.
Technical challenges needed to be managed during the implementation, as the bridge got constructed in a very narrow area, over the river stream and with soft ground conditions. Special considerations and measures have also been taken to not interfere the adjacent traffic during the construction period. Due to the excellent and professional cooperation between RDA, local contractors and MCE, the bridge has been opened for public traffic prior to the contractual completion date.
