The Podolsko Bridge is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

that spans the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

between Podolsko and Temešvár in

Písek District Písek District () is a Okres, district in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Písek. Administrative division Písek District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with extended ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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. Design was by the Ministry of Public Works. Experimental Stress Analysis

photoelasticity In materials science, photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a ...

was by Jaroslav Josef Polívka of the University of California. After the

Orlík Dam Orlík may refer to: * Orlican VT-16 Orlík, Czechoslovakian glider of 1959 * Orlík nad Vltavou, a municipality and village in the Czech Republic ** Orlík Reservoir ** Orlík Castle * 11339 Orlík, an asteroid * Orlík (band), a former Czech ban ...

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 The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

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 Deck arch bridges Bridges completed in 1942 Bridges over the Vltava Písek District Buildings and structures in the South Bohemian Region 1942 establishments in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia