ADVANTAGES OF OUR FOOTBRIDGES

Aluminum footbridges are ideal structures for bicycle and foot traffic applications. Their versatility offers more options for expanding connections and adding more pathways. Soft mobility is steadily increasing in urban areas and transport is becoming more multi-modal in cities around the world while the number of pedestrians and cyclists has brought about new needs. Aluminum products respond to these needs by offering effective, cost-controlled solutions and they are the best option for a variety of uses such as providing marina access, accommodating people with reduced mobility or offering a solution for waterway crossings.

STYLE AND SAFETY FOR SUCCESSFUL URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Our engineering and design offices are specialised in developing stylish footbridges that are optimised for a wide range of traffic and crossings.

Our metallic structures and elegant railings are designed to fit into all styles of urban development structures. We offer decking solutions (surface coverings) made of polyethylene, wood and composite wood in many different colours. Our footbridges can bring a specific, custom look to surrounding installations so that they fit seamlessly into the landscape. They can easily be incorporated into development projects for public spaces and renovation and beautification work for specific areas and regions.

USER SAFETY, PUBLIC CONVENIENCE

Our pedestrian and cyclist footbridges are perfectly adapted for open-access public spaces. They provide maximum safety with anti-slip coatings and railings that integrate handrails and access gates.

Aluminum is naturally non-combustible and does not release toxic fumes in the event of a fire.

STANDARD DIMENSIONS AND TAILOR-MADE PROJECTS

We offer standard footbridges that are pre-calculated and pre-engineered to comply with the standards of the given sector. In terms of dimensions, standard footbridges can extend up to thirty-six metres in length and run from two to three metres wide.

We are available to discuss your plans for the design of specific footbridges that require different dimensions.

MAXIMUM DURABILITY, MINIMAL MAINTENANCE

Long-lasting and requiring little maintenance, our aluminum structures are often used in ports and marinas to access docks or a dike. In fact, aluminum naturally generates an oxide layer that protects the material from corrosion. Our footbridges do not need to be treated or painted with chemical products like anticorrosive paint or galvanised coating. They can be cleaned easily through direct abrasive blasting without losing any of their performance.

Our products do not require any maintenance or restoration during their first fifty years of use, and their lifespan is endless.

UNFAILING RESISTANCE

Aluminum is extremely resistant to aging and continued exposure to climatic elements. Our products can withstand extreme temperatures from -40° C to +50° C and the weather hazards found in areas prone to typhoons and cyclones or regions that experience freezing conditions.

For the construction of footbridges, aluminum offers the same stability capabilities as steel. Numerous aluminum alloys have been perfected, improving its mechanical resistance and providing optimal performance over time. Aluminum is ideal for such intensive uses as landing sites and construction access ramps. Its structural rigidity provides it with substantial deformation resistance.

A HIGHLY ADVANTAGEOUS TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP

Aluminum is more advantageous than other competing materials for all types of long-term investments, particularly those involving civil engineering projects such as footbridge construction projects.

The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of our aluminum products is significantly lower than that of steel products. When looking at the following costs: acquisition costs, transport costs, reduced installation costs, nearly non-existent maintenance costs and the end-of-lifecycle cost (aluminum is endlessly recyclable), aluminum footbridges prove to be more competitive than structures made of competing materials.

Aluminum footbridges therefore offer an attractive solution for regional development and improvement initiatives. With an increasing demand for soft mobility, local municipalities see aluminum as an ally in their projects for cycling and walking paths and bridges for foot traffic.

ALUMINUM STRUCTURES: LIGHTWEIGHT PERFORMANCE

Aluminum bridges are lightweight while also being long lasting and inexpensive. Aluminum footbridges have a higher resistance-to-weight ratio than the traditional construction solutions using concrete decks and steel structures and they are fifty per cent lighter than those made from steel while also having greater motion and overload resistance.

Aluminum’s low weight considerably reduces the structure’s permanent load, thus making them more effective at bearing the intense strain of cycling and foot traffic as well as construction machinery and emergency vehicles.

Their lightweight properties make aluminum structures easier and cheaper to transport and install.

DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY OF OUR ALUMINUM FOOTBRIDGES

Our engineers are making constant innovations to aluminum to optimise its effectiveness and harness these qualities when creating and installing our customers’ project. All the technical drawings and calculations of our aluminum structures are performed in house with our teams offering a turnkey solution starting with the footbridge’s engineering (dimensioning, creation, design) and moving onward to its manufacturing, planning and installation.

Focused on excellence, Poralu Bridge has received a wide range of quality certifications, which are in accordance with the most recognised international standards and regulations. They show our commitment to providing reliable, sound and effective products that satisfy the aluminum footbridge needs of our customers. We also offer a ten-year guarantee.

Standards for footbridge design

AS5100 Bridge design
AS1664 Aluminum structure design
AASHTO Bridge and footbridge design
BS5400 Bridge construction
CAN/CSA S6 06 Bridge design standards
CAN/CSA S157 Resistance of aluminum designs
EN1998 Structural design, seismic loads
EN1999 Structural design, aluminum structures

Performance standards

AS1665 Welding of aluminum structures
AWS D1.2 Welding of aluminum structures
AWS D1.2 Welding of aluminum structures
CAN/CSA W59.2 Welded aluminum construction
EN1090 3 Construction of aluminum structures
PD6705 3 Recommendations for the construction of aluminum structures

Standards concerning the vibration behaviour of footbridges

Setra technical guide
BS5400

ALUMINUM, A PERMANENT MATERIAL FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FOOTBRIDGES

In addition to its natural advantages, aluminum has numerous beneficial characteristics that can be applied to sustainable development initiatives (link to the environment page). Aluminum can be recycled endlessly, requiring just a fraction of the energy that was needed to produce it, in all about five per cent. It can also be entirely reused following the dismantling of a former footbridge without losing its efficacy. Around seventy-five per cent of the aluminum produced since 1880 is still in use today after being repurposed. Aluminum is non-toxic and does not require any chemical treatment. It is the preferential material for environmentally friendly construction projects.

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Aluminium gangway construction