In 2018 – two years late – the Swedish Road Administration was able to open the Hålogalandsbrua in Narvik. What was now Norway’s second longest suspension bridge – 1,533 meters between Karistranda and Øyjord – cost NOK 3.8 billion. The work was carried out by the Chinese company Sichuan Road & Bridge Group. The Chinese themselves stated that they would use the bridge as an entrance ticket to the European market. But the mission never went according to plan. Problems Concrete challenges, poor welding and bankruptcies contributed to delays of two years. But the problems did not stop when the bridge was completed. A month after the opening, the Swedish Road Administration discovered a bolt broken. After further investigation, it turned out that there were weaknesses in 12 bolts that hold the cables in place. In addition, there was a break in a cable shoe. In total, there are 334 bolts and 44 cables that hold the bridge in place. – If one more breach is discovered, the bridge will be closed to traffic, said construction manager Guttorm Ræder in the Norwegian Road Administration. Disagree with the Chinese To be on the safe side, the Norwegian Road Administration decided that all the bolts should be replaced. But then the question arose: Who would pay? The Swedish Road Administration believed that it was a complaint case and that there was a manufacturing defect in the bolts that were used. The Chinese did not agree to that – they did not want to pay. An independent group was set up to judge who was right in the conflict. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration finally made the decision to withdraw the claim against the Chinese – after they themselves concluded that the breakage of one of the bolts was not due to a manufacturing defect or faulty workmanship during installation. The conclusion was that the bolts had been exposed to moisture during construction. Removed future risk Since then, work has continued to replace all the bolts – and now the job is finished. In total, the entire job cost NOK 32.5 million. A job that was worth doing, says project manager Hans Jack Arntzen. He emphasizes that breaking a bolt did not pose a danger to the bridge or to the safety of those who have used it. – But the bridge will stand there for a hundred years. To remove a possible future risk, we decided that we would replace all the bolts. The bolts that now anchor the support cables have never been exposed to moisture. They are illuminated and tested to withstand many times the load they are exposed to, he says in a press release.
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The Swedish Road Administration had to change bolts for NOK 32 million on the Hålogalandsbrua – news Nordland
