Breaking new ground in European bridge building

Own competence center develops innovative formwork solutions

Doka has made a name for itself with formwork solutions for extraordinary bridge structures. Recent projects such as the Jaruga and Aftetal bridges in the heart of Europe, as well as on the A16 Rotterdam motorway, show that thanks to Doka expertise, tomorrow's infrastructure projects are already being built today. They are developed at the Doka Competence Center at the company's headquarters in Amstetten, Austria, by a team of highly qualified engineers involved in the largest bridge projects with the most diverse construction methods.

Building a bridge is a long-term project that requires professional planning in order to be carried out efficiently, quickly and economically. This is why Doka established its own competence center "Global Expertise Centre Infrastructure" in 2006, which deals with comprehensive project management in bridge construction. The Competence Center is the key to strategic success in the realization of numerous mega-projects in more than sixty countries. The team is constantly looking for new ways to develop even more efficient and sustainable solutions for clients around the world to successfully complete the most difficult bridge projects.

Innovation leads to success

Modern formwork systems are adaptable, versatile and easy to combine. For example, they can be used first for retaining walls or foundations and then for shaft formwork. Moreover, the comprehensive Doka product range offers the best formwork solution for various bridge-building methods. The Doka free forming carriage is particularly suitable for large spans, because it builds bridge sections symmetrically on both sides. For safe and fast construction of composite bridges, where the bridge deck consists of both concrete and steel structures, Doka deploys the composite forming carriage. The universal Doka construction kit UniKit is ideal for handling high loads over any span. A distinct advantage of these formwork systems is that they consist of standardized rental parts that can be reused on other construction sites. 

International success

On international projects, Doka shows how its expertise and cutting-edge solutions can make an impact. The main part of the 500-meter-long Dumanja Jaruga Bridge in Croatia, with a maximum span of 120 meters, was formed using four pieces of free-standing pre-cast concrete. The adjustments that had to be made to support the transverse slope posed a formwork challenge because the highway had to be adapted to the S-shaped curve. Various components from the UniKit construction kit were used for the formwork for the cross-slope. In addition to the Doka UniKit tower 480, both UniKit formwork beams and custom-made SL-1 towers were used. Doka added significant value with digital formwork planning in 3D construction, checking for potential clashes and promoting smooth collaboration. This resulted in shorter planning times, cost savings and increased safety on site.

Mastering complex bridge geometry

The Aftetal Bridge is a composite bridge between Brilon and Paderborn. Its height, pillar geometry and massive pillar heads as well as its length and span make it one of the most challenging constructions. The complexity of the bridge geometry also increases the demands on the formwork. Due to the demanding construction requirements, Doka developed individual solutions to ensure process reliability, schedule compliance and cost management. By using Doka formwork solutions, it was possible to reduce material consumption by 40% and construction time by 30%. A perfect example for minimizing the ecological footprint while maintaining quality.

A16 Rotterdam

Doka is also a familiar name in the Netherlands. In the construction of the new 11 km-long link between the A16 and A13 motorways in Rotterdam, the universal UniKit heavy-duty construction tower was used. Using formwork solutions consisting of UniKit support beams and a customized reinforcement field, all of which can be reused despite their different geometries, bridge segments were cast, lifted and moved over the through highway traffic using the incremental launch method. Doka expertise also played a role in making the fair-faced concrete formwork that is now part of Rotterdam's cityscape. And so Doka is contributing to a wide variety of bridge projects at home and abroad.