Bridge closure diverts northbound traffic past Jyväskylä

Repairs will close the Aholaida ramp bridge near central Jyväskylä from Sunday night into Monday, disrupting northbound traffic on Route 4, Yle reports.

The bridge will close between August 30 and 31. It carries traffic from the Vaajakoski motorway towards Rantaväylä and is used by about 6,000 vehicles a day. Around 10 percent of them are heavy vehicles.

During the closure, traffic on Rantaväylä will continue in both directions, with one lane available in each direction. Three detours will be available for northbound traffic.

The regional vitality centre advises heavy vehicles arriving from the south on Route 4 to take the Vaajakoski roundabout towards Leppävesi.

Passenger cars can leave the Vaajakoski motorway at the Akkala exit near the Rauhalahti power plant and continue along Vaajakoskentie. Another option is to follow the motorway to its end and continue north through the Tourula district.

The Tourula route may become congested on weekday mornings between 6.30 and 8am and afternoons between 3 and 5pm.

The bridge is managed by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, while the regional vitality centre is responsible for its refurbishment. The project manager, Teemu Saastamoinen, said the closure would cause significant disruption because the bridge is located at a busy traffic junction.

Workers are repairing the bridge expansion joints, as well as those on nearby overpass and junction bridges. The concrete support strips around the steel expansion joint devices have worn into grooves, which drivers may notice as a bump when crossing the end of the bridge.

The expansion joints allow the bridge to move as temperatures change. The bridge expands in warm weather and contracts in cold weather, while the joints reduce stress on the structures.

The existing expansion joint devices will first be removed and the concrete support strips rebuilt. The concrete requires dry, above-freezing weather to set.

The bridge is expected to reopen by the end of week 39. It will then close again for about a week while the new expansion joint devices are installed. The installation requires cool weather, and a few degrees below freezing will not prevent the work.