The landmark Metsovitikos Bridge, Greece

Egnatia motorway in northern Greece is one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe; Metsovitikos Bridge is one of its two landmark structures. A scheme incorporating a pier-less suspension bridge with inclined hangers was originally selected by the client through a design competition between three distinguished European firms of consultants. Despite the novelty and elegance of this scheme, its well-advanced design was abandoned due to uncertainties regarding the long-term stability of a landslip behind one of the cable anchorages. The design was subsequently replaced by a balanced cantilever bridge scheme with a main span of 235 m, believed to be the longest-span bridge of its kind in the Balkans. This paper explains the suspension bridge design, outlines its advantages and disadvantages, and describes the design and construction of the balanced cantilever bridge in some detail.