The world’s first welded bridge

A wastewater treatment plant modernised by NEWATER is operating in the municipality of Zduny, in the village of Strugienice. The official opening ceremony took place at the end of November 2024.  In this municipality, you can find a monument of Polish engineering dating back almost 100 years, which almost immediately became a place of pilgrimage for engineers from Germany, England, France and other countries. It is a steel bridge over the Stułwa River in Maurzyce near Łowicz.

Designed by engineer Stefan Bryła, it was the world’s first welded bridge, measuring 27 metres in length and almost 7 metres in width. It was significantly more lightweight and cost-effective than the riveted bridges of that time – the weight of the structure was reduced from 70 to 56 tonnes. The main structural elements are two steel lattice beams with a straight bottom chord and a broken top chord. The beams support a grate consisting of cross and longitudinal beams, which in turn support the concrete roadway. The bridge has a load capacity of 30 tonnes. At the time of its construction, it was located on the road between Warsaw and Berlin. Today, the bridge is only a pedestrian crossing; it has been moved, and its function has been taken over by a new structure. After extensive renovation in 2009, it is now a pleasure to behold for technology enthusiasts.

It is also worth paying attention to the creator of the bridge. Among other projects, engineer Stefan Bryła designed the structure of the Prudential, Warsaw’s tallest pre-war skyscraper,  and was the designer of the welded iron structure for the book depository of the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow. During the war, he was involved with the Home Army and compiled the manual “How to destroy steel bridges”. In December 1943, he was shot by the Germans for conducting secret teaching and for writing this book.

In 1995, the American Welding Society honoured Prof. Bryła with the Historic Welded Structure Award for the welded bridge over the Słudwia River.