2014. 11. 18..
Celebrating the completion of a bridge by rolling a barrel across the deck is a longstanding tradition. According to old superstition, being the first to cross a new bridge brings bad luck – therefore, a barrel is rolled across it as soon as the structural works are completed, in order to “divert” the curse onto the barrel.
We reinterpreted the tradition somewhat, as the bridge in question is not completely new – the barrel rolled across it in 1930 already used up its luck by being emptied – and we also waited with the ceremony until the bridge was ready for traffic.
The event featured speeches from the Mayor of Rátót, Ferenc Málics; the bridge engineer of Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt., Attila Czap; and the Director General of Colas Hungária, Péter Sebestény. As is customary, all guests had the chance to roll the barrel for a few metres, including designer Gábor Reiner from Pont-Terv Zrt., Director László Horváth, Bridge Department Manager Gábor Hesz from Magyar Közút NZrt., Director Miklós Böröcz, department manager Gábor Horváth from the National Traffic Authority, and Tibor Ikker from GYSEV railways.
By completing the job, we added another bridge to our list of references, while gainingexperience from a delicate assignment in
Rátót. We would like to thank all parties involved for their cooperation and assistance, and express our gratitude to the people of Rátót, especially for the patience of residents living near the temporary detour.