Podolsko Bridge

The Podolsko Bridge is an arch bridge that spans the Vltava between Podolsko and Temešvár in Písek District, Czech Republic. At the time of its completion in 1942, it was the longest arch bridge in Czechoslovakia. In May 1945 during World War II, elements of the U.S. 4th Armored Division took over the western end of the bridge and near by village of Temesvar, marking the farthest point the Western Allied Powers moved East on the Western Front.

Podolský Bridge
Coordinates	49°21′26″N 14°16′22″E
Carries	road
Crosses	Vltava
Locale	Podolsko
Official name	Podolský most
Characteristics
Design	arch bridge
Total length	510 metres (1,673 ft)
Width	8.5 metres (28 ft)
Height	55
Longest span	150 metres (492 ft)
Clearance below	49 metres (161 ft)
History
Opened	1942
Statistics
Daily traffic	3896
Location

Design was by the Ministry of Public Works. Experimental Stress Analysis photoelasticity was by Jaroslav Josef Polívka of the University of California.

After the Orlík Dam was completed in 1961, the Vltava rose 19 meters and covered part of the supports.

References

• "Contractor Meets Close Design Tolerances in Building Long-Span Concrete Arch Bridge" J. J. Polivika, Civil Engineering, ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers January 1949
• Philosophy of Structures By Eduardo Torroja [ English Version by J. J. Polivka and Milos Polivka ] (Figure 14:10b, page 221), University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, inconjuction with Cambridge University Press, 366 pages