To minimise disruption, the work has been scheduled after the start of the school year, following the end of the summer holidays. During the closure, designated detours will divert traffic away from the bridge.
Work will start on 2 September and is expected to last for two weeks.
Drivers coming from Budapest will have to exit the motorway at the Zamárdi Upper/Siófok West junction and re-enter at Balatonszárszó.
Conversely, those coming from the national border will exit at Balatonszárszó and rejoin the motorway at Zamárdi felző/Siófok West.
The closure is necessary to replace three badly worn piers, known as ‘shoes’, which are crucial to the structural stability of the bridge.
The Kőröshegy Valley Bridge spans 1,872 metres and has a total of 38 piers, three of which have been identified as requiring immediate replacement. The replacement process is very complicated and requires the bridge to be lifted a few centimetres off its piers, effectively “lifting the bridge out of its place”, explains Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt. (MKIF), the company in charge of maintenance.
In addition to the replacement of the shoes, the anti-corrosion coatings on the bridge’s expansion elements will also be renewed at four locations along the bridge.
Photo credits @ Christo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons