Kőröshegy Valley Bridge will be reopened to traffic in its full width much earlier than the planned date of September 16 (Monday), at 13:00 this afternoon.

The earlier-than-planned completion is partly due, among other things, to the fact that the preparation of the works have been ongoing since the trial lifting in April. Our staff did not encounter any major difficulties during the replacements, so the work progressed at a good pace, even ahead of schedule. As a result, we will finish the work 5 days earlier than expected. 

During the works, nearly 30 specialists, a 160-tonne mobile crane with a lifting height of 76 metres and 18 hydraulic lifting systems, capable of lifting a total of around 10,000 tonnes, worked to ensure that the structural elements, each weighing around 10 tonnes, which have been worn out over the past 17 years and are now being replaced, were removed as quickly and safely as possible and then fit the new ones in place with millimetre precision. The new bearings are unique, made to order in Germany.

It is important to emphasize that once we have closed the bridge to traffic, we have also carried out all the interventions that would have otherwise involved traffic restrictions. We carried out corrosion protection of the dilatation elements of the bridge across the entire cross-section, asphalted where it was necessary and restored the shoulder, speeding up the levelling up of the M7 motorway. Our colleagues also carried out repairs to the guard rails and light deflector nets on the affected section.

Annual bridge inspections and bi-annual bridge inspections, as well as the results of the spring test lifts, have revealed that three of the 38 bearings of the Kőröshegy Valley Bridge (each of which can support a load of 4,500 tonnes when in place) are badly worn and need replacing. Bearings are special elements of the bridge that allow the controlled movement of the bridge structure, ensuring the stability of the bridge. This was the first bearing replacement of the 1872-metre-long bridge, built in 2007. All of this work was planned in advance, and the bridge is in safe and good condition. 

During the levelling up, which started last year, we not only replace broken pavements on 538 km of express roads operated by us across the country by 2025 but also renew as many as 200 bridges and flyovers, including several major bridges such as the M7 valley bridge. 

We would like to thank all travellers and locals for their patience and cooperation!

MKIF Plc. wishes you a safe journey!