The “Bererix” joint venture of Belgium’s Besix and Latvia’s Rere Buve has finished the first phase of a new railway bridge over the Daugava River in Riga, Latvia.
The bridge is part of the JV’s project to build a new central train station in Riga for the Rail Baltica mega project, high-speed corridor connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Poland and the European rail network.
Bererix started building the bridge in February last year with the installation of two piers on the right bank of the Daugava – a terminal pier on Lastādijas Street and an intermediate pier on General Radziņa Embankment.
Then they built the first pier in the river and the bridge span crossing over General Radziņa Embankment, thus connecting the piers.
During this first phase, a 140m-long span was built, requiring some 117km – 137 tonnes – of prestressing cables and 4,473 cu m of concrete.
First for the Baltics
Besix said it was the first use of the balanced cantilever method in bridge construction in the Baltic region. It lets the free-standing span over the river extend 44m without additional support.
The company said first-phase work was finished a month ahead of schedule, thanks to what it called “well-planned winter work logistics”.
Traffic under the bridge had been partially restricted since March 2024, but restrictions have been lifted now that the first river pier is connected to the riverbank structures.
The next phase involves building piers and a bridge span from Zaķusala, which will proceed once the necessary funding is secured and Rail Baltica’s construction priorities are finalised, Besix said.
- Subscribe here to get stories about construction around the world in your inbox three times a week
Further Reading:
