Gacka Bridge

About

The Gacka Bridge is located between Žuta Lokva and Ličko Lešće. It is 466 metres (1,529 ft) long, and it comprises four traffic lanes and two emergency lanes. Speed limit enforced on the bridge is 130 km/h. The contract value of the bridge was 94.3 million Croatian kuna (c. €12.7 million) without VAT. The bridge spans Gacka River, one of few remaining rivers in Croatia that is considered as readily potable water, along its entire length. Therefore, environmental protection of the area is of paramount importance at the bridge, bringing about very strict environmental protection measures. One of those was a construction requirement that no section of the bridge comes in contact with the riverbed or Gacka channel. This in turn resulted in a considerable span over the channel (89.53 metres (293.7 ft)). The span across the Gacka River was executed using incremental launching, while the span across the Gacka channel, which is the longest, was executed using free cantilevering. The bridge comprises 9 spans: 54.70 metres (179.5 ft) + 89.53 metres (293.7 ft) + 55.46 metres (182.0 ft) + 44.52 metres (146.1 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43.77 metres (143.6 ft) + 43...

Traffic is regularly counted and reported by Croatian Motorways Ltd, operator of the bridge and the A1 motorway where the bridge is located, and published by Hrvatske Ceste. Substantial variations between annual ( AADT ) and summer (ASDT) traffic volumes are attributed to the fact that the bridge carries substantial tourist traffic to the Dalmatian Adriatic resorts. The traffic count is performed using analysis of motorway toll ticket sales.