Flisa Bridge, Norway—a record-breaking timber bridge

Over the past decade several timber bridges have been built in Norway, particularly in Hedmark County. The unique experience gained from these projects has enabled bridge engineers to build increasingly larger bridges. On 5 June 2003, the new Flisa Bridge opened. It is the world's longest timber bridge designed for full traffic loads with respect to clear span (70·34 m), and one of the longest with respect to total length (196 m). The bridge crosses the river Glomma in Hedmark County, approximately 150 km north of Oslo, and is placed on the foundations of the old bridge. The trusses and parapets are constructed using glued-laminated timber, and the bridge deck is a stress-laminated deck plate of sawn timber. The new superstructure consists of almost 900 m³ glued-laminated and sawn timber (utilising more than 7000 trees), and more than 200 t of steel. The total cost of the bridge is about 30 million Norwegian kroner (or €3·5 million/£2·4 million). This paper describes the design and construction of this unique project.