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structurae
Complex Bearing Replacement At The Port Of Hamburg
The Köhlbrand bridge sits at the heart of the port of Hamburg. Opened in 1974, the asymmetric cable-stayed bridge crosses the Köhlbrand, which is part of the Süderelbe. It connects the western areas of the port with the island of Wilhelmsburg in the river. It also links the port to the motorways heading towards Flensburg, Kiel, Hanover and Bremen. The bridge carries large volumes of heavy goods traffic, particularly on weekdays, while its clearance of 53 m allows container ships to pass underneath. It was this height that posed a challenge when it came to replacing the bridge bearings. “The problem when changing the bearings here isn’t the bearings themselves, but rather the installation and removal”, explains Michael Trzeciok, Project Manager at MAURER. Each of the three piers forms its own project phase. After intensive preliminary work, replacing the two bearings on each pier requires the bridge to be closed from Friday evening to Monday morning every time. This is because the bridge deck can only be raised when there is no traffic. The first two bearings were replaced in October 2023. Pier 101 stands on the island. A scaffold measuring around 40 m in height was built here to reach the bridge bearings. A special launching track with table was designed, in order to remove an old bearing from the pier and replace it with a new one. The old bearing was taken away on the table via the launching track and put down, before the table returned with the new bearing. This required electric winches, which were installed inside the bridge’s box girder. The image shows the cables passing down through the box girder on the left and right. The second phase in September was even more challenging, as pier 102 is located in the water of the Köhlbrand itself. To replace the bearing here, a temporary bridge was constructed from pieces of scaffold in order to access the pier from the water. A total of six pot bearings are being replaced in three phases until 2025. Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Mar 17, 2025
structurae
Lapendenta Suspension Bridge In Disentis
Since November 2024, Graubünden's longest suspension bridge has spanned the Rhine Gorge near Disentis/Mustér. The ARGE Jakob Rope Systems, Pfeifer and Von Rotz & Wiedemar AG realized this bridge construction project using rope technology and stainless steel construction. Graubünden's longest suspension bridge has been open in Disentis/Mustér since November 2024. With a length of almost 300 meters and a ground clearance of 100 meters, the suspension bridge creates a spectacular footpath from Mumpé Medel to Disentis/Mustér over the narrow, deep Rhine Gorge here. From a tourist point of view, the suspension bridge connects two waypoints of the historic mule track over the Lukmanier Pass. The ARGE Jakob Rope Systems / Pfeifer / Von Rotz & Wiedemar AG planned and built the complete solution for this suspension bridge. Jakob Rope Systems designed the construction of the suspension bridge. The bridge structure consists of six suspension ropes (Ø 45 mm, VVS) below the walkway and two suspension ropes at handrail level. Two ropes (Ø 26 mm, Forte-OSS) are used for bracing. A bracing structure consisting of stainless steel ropes and connections reduces unwanted swinging during use, absorbs forces caused by wind and prevents major deformations. The steel frame construction of the bridge girder is suspended from the supporting ropes. The stainless steel Webnet with a height of 1.30 meters provides the necessary fall protection as a side railing infill and also carries loads. Bridge structure: 4 suspension ropes (Ø 45 mm, VVS) below the walking level, 2 suspension ropes (Ø 45 mm, VVS) at handrail level Bracing: 2 ropes (Ø 30.9 mm, OSS), coupling ropes Ø 12 – 19 mm Railing infill: Webnet, 2 mm rope diameter, 60 mm mesh width, vertical meshes Client: LaPendenta Owner: Community of Disentis/Mustér Project management: ipz ingenieure + planer ag Engineer preliminary project: Casutt Wyrsch Zwicky AG Project engineer: Bigler AG Ingenieure und Planer SIA Bridge construction engineer: Jakob Rope Systems Bridge builder: ARGE Jakob Rope Systems, PFEIFER Structures, Von Rotz & Wiedemar AG Master builder: Loretz SA Drilling: Bianchi Bau Surveying: Pini Gruppe AG Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Jan 22, 2025
structurae
Himmelhausmattesteg: A Suspension Bridge On A Wire Rope Mesh
An elegant suspension bridge has been crossing the Trub in Trubschachen in the Emmental since November 2020. The construction of the pedestrian and cycle path bridge is unique: for the first time, a bridge is suspended from a wire rope mesh instead of the usual suspension ropes. The bridge connects the Trubschacher Himmelhausmatte with the train station. It creates a safe way to school for the local children and closes a gap in the national hiking and cycling network. With a slight incline as it crosses the river, the bridge spans a total of 25.8 metres, with the suspended section of the bridge stretching 21.5 metres between the supporting pylons. The bridge joins the road to the neighboring district, with its 2.2 metre width enabling the municipality’s 5 tonne snow-clearing tractor to cross in the winter. The bridge is designed for a payload of 4.0 kN/m². Constructed from steel gratings, the bridge deck is supported on four HEA 140 longitudinal steel beams, which in turn are supported by seven transverse beams across the suspended section. The structure is then braced by the Webnet which creates a superelevation sag of 280 millimetres. The design, including the inclination due to the superelevation sag, was developed to allow easy access for people with impaired mobility. The wire mesh Webnet consists of 3 millimetre stainless steel ropes, with a construction of 6 × 19 + WC, which with sleeves, forms a mesh width of 80 millimeters. The Webnet is connected to 26 millimetre diameter suspension cables, which are 1 x 37 open spiral strand stainless cables, with Jakob Forte turnbuckles fitted at both ends. The suspension cable has a 2.4 metres sag over its 23.7 metres length, which gives an f / l ratio of 1/10. These cables are attached to the pylon heads, together with the Jakob Forte M36 wire ropes and the tie-back cable. The 5.3 metre high articulated pylons are manufactured from welded hollow sections and support the longitudinal profiles of the bridge girder on their crossbars, these being connected to the pylons by means of bolted joints. In total, the bridge structure, including its gratings, weighs about 12 tonnes and it is anchored into heavy weight concrete. Construction work started in spring 2020. After completion of the foundations, the articulated pylons were positioned in place together with the temporary suspension cables which had already been attached. The girder had been manufactured off-site and transported to Trubschachen in one-piece, where it was lifted into position by pneumatic crane and secured to temporary cables. The suspension bridge was opened in November 2020. The bridge is a joint project of the companies Jakob AG, Thuner Bau AG and Kambly SA as well as the municipality of Trubschachen. Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Jan 22, 2025
structurae
Himmelhausmattesteg: A Suspension Bridge On A Wire Rope Mesh
An elegant suspension bridge has been crossing the Trub in Trubschachen in the Emmental since November 2020. The construction of the pedestrian and cycle path bridge is unique: for the first time, a bridge is suspended from a wire rope mesh instead of the usual suspension ropes. The bridge connects the Trubschacher Himmelhausmatte with the train station. It creates a safe way to school for the local children and closes a gap in the national hiking and cycling network. With a slight incline as it crosses the river, the bridge spans a total of 25.8 metres, with the suspended section of the bridge stretching 21.5 metres between the supporting pylons. The bridge joins the road to the neighboring district, with its 2.2 metre width enabling the municipality’s 5 tonne snow-clearing tractor to cross in the winter. The bridge is designed for a payload of 4.0 kN/m². Constructed from steel gratings, the bridge deck is supported on four HEA 140 longitudinal steel beams, which in turn are supported by seven transverse beams across the suspended section. The structure is then braced by the Webnet which creates a superelevation sag of 280 millimetres. The design, including the inclination due to the superelevation sag, was developed to allow easy access for people with impaired mobility. The wire mesh Webnet consists of 3 millimetre stainless steel ropes, with a construction of 6 × 19 + WC, which with sleeves, forms a mesh width of 80 millimeters. The Webnet is connected to 26 millimetre diameter suspension cables, which are 1 x 37 open spiral strand stainless cables, with Jakob Forte turnbuckles fitted at both ends. The suspension cable has a 2.4 metres sag over its 23.7 metres length, which gives an f / l ratio of 1/10. These cables are attached to the pylon heads, together with the Jakob Forte M36 wire ropes and the tie-back cable. The 5.3 metre high articulated pylons are manufactured from welded hollow sections and support the longitudinal profiles of the bridge girder on their crossbars, these being connected to the pylons by means of bolted joints. In total, the bridge structure, including its gratings, weighs about 12 tonnes and it is anchored into heavy weight concrete. Construction work started in spring 2020. After completion of the foundations, the articulated pylons were positioned in place together with the temporary suspension cables which had already been attached. The girder had been manufactured off-site and transported to Trubschachen in one-piece, where it was lifted into position by pneumatic crane and secured to temporary cables. The suspension bridge was opened in November 2020. The bridge is a joint project of the companies Jakob AG, Thuner Bau AG and Kambly SA as well as the municipality of Trubschachen. Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Jan 22, 2025
structurae
Expansion Joints For The Friendship Bridge
The completion of the Ponte da Inte-gração Brasil-Paraguai, the friendship bridge linking Brazil and Paraguay, represents a dream come true for the region that has been 40 years in the making. The long-awaited second connec-tion between the two countries has a main span of 470 m, making it the long-est in Latin America. A project of this size required suitably large expansion joints, which were delivered by the structural protection specialists at MAURER. The Ponte da Integração Brasil-Paraguai is an asymmetric cable-stayed bridge with a total length of 760 m. The pylons reach up 190.17 m in Brazil and 185.04 m on the Paraguayan side. The bridge crosses the Paranà river and connects the Paraguayan city of Presidente Franco with Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. The bridge has an average width of 17.8 m, with lanes measuring 3.6 m wide in each direction. It also has a 3-m-wide hard shoulder and a pavement measuring 1.7 m in width. It will relieve the strain on the friendship bridge inaugurated in 1965 between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este. This older bridge will then be closed to heavy goods vehicles, which will only be allowed to use the new bridge. The record span required the largest expansion joint constructions ever built in either country. Fitted at the abutments at both ends of the bridge, these flexible elements compensate for movements that the bridge makes due to traffic, wind and temperature fluctuations in relation to the mainland. Expansion joints also ensure that vehicles can drive across this juncture unimpeded, regardless of the transition construction’s displacement. The joints are installed perpendicular to the direction of travel. Bridges in both countries are usually built with simple rubber profiles and narrow rubber expansion joints. But this was not sufficient for the friendship bridge. The project called for sophisticated, low-maintenance swivel joist expansion joints. MAURER Munich therefore collaborated closely with local subsidiary MAURER do Brasil to provide the contractor with technical support. What makes the swivel joist expansion joints special is the way they allow for movements in all directions without damage or significant resistance. They permit lateral, longitudinal and vertical movements in relation to the direction of travel, as well as any rotations. The profiles rest on top of the parallel swivel joists, which, with the exception of those at the edges, run at a slight angle to the direction of the road. This spreads the bridge’s tensile and shear movements evenly and without fatigue across the gaps between the profiles. As a result, the expansion joints are set to do their job for at least 50 years. MAURER installed one each of its DS 640/800 and DS 320/400 expansion joints, allowing compensation for bridge movements of 800 and 400 mm respectively. The components are 13.6 m long and have two footpath sections each measuring 2.3 m. Due to transport limitations, they were delivered in two parts before being welded together under MAURER’s supervision at the end of 2022. MAURER also supplied 67 elastomeric bearings for the friendship bridge, with dimensions of up to 1,100 x 1,100 x 102 mm. These were all produced by MAURER do Brasil in Sao Paulo. Construction of the bridge began in 2019. The main bridge section was completed in August 2023, with work on the ancillary structures still ongoing. The bridge is scheduled to be opened to traffic by the end of 2024. The project is being led by the consortium Construbase-Cidade-Paulitec. Three more partners are involved in the cross-border project: the Itaipu Binational hydroelectric power station (a cooperation between Brazil and Paraguay), the Brazilian state of Paraná, and the Paraná Road Authority (DER-PR), which monitors all road construction projects in the state. Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Jan 16, 2025
structurae
Expansion Joint Opens Horizontally In The Middle Of The Bridge
The new Clyde Crossing in Glasgow is a double swing bridge that opens at the centre, thanks in part to the special expansion joint from MAURER (Type DS 4 HL). With its unique hydraulic system, it can control the open-ing and closing of the bridge, as well as compensating for expansions caused by temperature, wind and traffic load like a conventional expansion joint. The Clyde Crossing is Scotland’s latest iconic feat of engineering. It crosses the River Clyde in the Glasgow suburb of Yoker and connects the neighbouring towns of Clydebank and Renfrew. The imposing white steel bridge consists of two swing bridges and was built by a joint venture between JV Hollandia Infra (southern half) and Smulders Iemants (northern half). Two pairs of pylons close to the river bank extend outwards like cranes and pivot with the bridge when it opens. The Clyde Crossing is 184 m long and 12.3 m wide, making it suitable for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists alike. Bridges of this size usually have an expansion joint at each end next to the abutments. This bridges the gaps in the structure required to compensate for horizontal expansions caused by wind, traffic loads or temperature differences, for example. On the new double swing bridge, however, the pivots are located so close to the abutments that it was neither necessary nor possible to have expansion joints there. As the longer bridge sections were located at the middle of the river, the expansion joint also had to be there, at the point where the bridge opens. From a technical perspective, this was a unique challenge. It called for a single system that would combine the horizontal opening and closing of the swing bridge, as well as the longitudinal expansion and rotation. “The initial enquiry came back in 2019, which shows just how challenging the project was”, recalls Jeroen Melief, Branch Manager at MAURER Netherlands BV. The development of this special construction involved engineers from multiple companies. MAURER took the lead with its experts in Munich, Lünen and Culemborg. The construction also had to comply with both Eurocode and the British standard, while the highly intensive development and coordination phase was delayed by the effects of Brexit and the pandemic. The solution was based on modern MSM® swivel joist expansion joints. Similar systems have been used successfully in demanding bridge projects for decades. They allow for longitudinal movements of up to 3 m and more, as well as rotations in all directions. The parallel profiles, also known as intermediate beams, sit on top of the swivel joists and run transverse to the direction of travel. The joists run at a slight angle to the direction of travel, therefore ensuring that the bridge’s opening and closing movements are spread evenly across the sealing elements between the profiles. On the latest generation of MAURER’s swivel joist expansion joints, the intermediate beams run in w-shaped MSM® bearings instead of simple elastomeric ones. Known as a catamaran support, this improves the performance of the entire expansion joint. The MSM® sliding material and special bearing shape allow the profiles to slide more easily and precisely over the joists. This prevents restraints and increases the service life. For the project in Glasgow, the already sophisticated MSM® swivel joist expansion joint was also fitted with hydraulic control, sliding bearings and defined contact surfaces, before being installed on the southern swing bridge. MAURER provided an MSM® swivel joist expansion joint measuring 13.2 m in length and with a movement of 320 mm (MAURER type DS 4 HL modular joint). Unlike most conventional expansion joints, it is only welded on one side. As a result, MAURER also supplied a 40-cm-wide strip to bridge the gap to the northern side. The steel structures are protected by MSM® strips in the contact surface. Both halves of the bridge were produced in Rotterdam/Holland. There, the entire special construction was installed on the southern bridge at the start of 2024. The hydraulic system was also put through its paces here by an external specialist company. “For such a unique construction, we wanted to be sure”, explains Melief. “The greatest success was the moment when we tested it and it worked exactly as we had imagined.” Once the system arrived in Glasgow in April, it was simply a matter of making a few small adjustments. Renfrewshire Council of Glasgow City Region plans to approve the bridge for use by traffic before the end of this year. Fields marked with a red asterisk * must be completed for the message to be sent.
road-bridge
Apr 12, 2024