Anaklia Ganmukhuri Pedestrian Bridge

The cycle and footpath bridge crosses the Enguri River between the new holiday resort, Anaklia, and the neighbouring town of Ganmukhuri, just before it flows into the Black Sea. It serves to connect a beach section to the new hotel and harbour area within walking distance. The bridge will help to further boost tourism in this region.

The entire bridge construction is 504 metres long and has ten spans. The length of the two haunched end spans is 36 m, while the typical spans are 48 m. The 60 m and 84 m large shipping openings are  supported by steel cables from a central pylon. The steel anchors on the deck are easily accessible from below.

Fast + Epp was consulted for the design of the timber structure and its connections. The main structure of the bridge consists of a continuous spatial triangular framework with a height of about 3.5 m, the struts and diagonals of which were made of glue laminated timber. The bridge girder is covered and braced by a Kerto® laminated veneer panel, the stiffness of which has been mapped in the spatial design model. Contrary to the original idea of covering the entire bridge with chestnut wood, a translucent polycarbonate cladding was ultimately chosen due to the special aesthetics of the visible wooden structure.

To guarantee a high quality of workmanship, all wooden components and connecting elements were prefabricated in Germany. In order to keep the associated logistical effort as low as possible, all chord splices were produced with the patented “Hess Limitless” adhesive connection. This includes a finger joint glued on the construction site and high-quality scarfs in the glulam top and bottom faces.