CIVIL ENGINEERING NEWS

BRIDGES

Hybrid Extradosed Bridge Under Way in British Columbia

The Golden Ears Bridge, which will span the Fraser River in British Columbia, is a low-profile, six-lane structure incorporating the characteristics of both cable-stayed and pure extradosed bridges.

ngineers designing a new bridge across the Fraser River in British Columbia had to develop a costeffective solution that would traverse 968 m, accommodate two navigation channels, and have no tnore than five spans. Height restrictions imposed by the presence of a nearby airport limited the height of the pylons, ruling out such traditional solutions as cablestayed and suspension bridges. So the engineers devised a 968 m long continuous hybrid extradosed bridge that will accommodate the long spans without needing extremely tall pylons.

low-profile, six-lane structure incorporating the characteristics of a cablestayed bridge and a pure extradosed bridge, says Don Bergman. P.Eng., a vice president of Buckland & Taylor Ltd., of North Vancouver. British Columbia, which is responsible for the design and construction engineering of the bridge and the approach viaducts. Bergman notes that in a cable-stayed bridge the vertical loads are delivered back to the towers primarily through the cable stays. In a true extradosed bridge, the deck participates significantly in delivering the vertical loads Named after the mountain peaks to back to the towers. "There's a bit of its north, the Golden Ears Bridge is a extradosed behavior in this bridge, par28

ticularly near the main piers," he says. "But farther out in this bridge, much of the load is being carried by the stays," just as in a true cable-stayed bridge. The low-profile towers, their steeply sloping stays suggesting a harp, also give the appearance of an extradosed bridge. The bridge will consist of three 242 ni long main spans and two 121 m long side spans and will be 32 m wide. The deck was designed to be as light as possible in order to minimize the foundation costs as well as reduce the seismic load on the substructure and foundations, says Bergman. The superstructure will feature
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OCTOBLB 2006

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a longitudinal steel box girder along each edge of the bridge. The girders will be connected by transverse steel floor beams spaced 5 ni apart from the center of one beam to tbe center of the next. Tbe two box girders will be 1.2 m wide and will vary in depth from 2.7 to 4.5 ni. the deepest sections connecting to the main piers. Tbe deck will be composed of precast-concrete panels witb cast-in-place infill strips placed between the precast panels over tbe top flanges of tbe floor beams and main girders. Tbe bridge will be surfaced witb a bigh-density concrete overlay. The pylons will rise just 40 m above the deck. Ten cables, eacb comprising 31 to 55 strandseacb strand being 15.2 mm in diameterwill extend in barplike fashion at an angle of approximately 18 degrees from botb sides of the pylons and connect to the main girders at the deck. Twin wall piers composed oi reinforced concrete were selected for the bridge because of tbeir flexibility in the longitudinal direction, whicb enables them to tolerate tbe large longitudinal movements associated witb such a long continuous structure, says Bergman. The lower portion of tbe pier legs will be protected from direct ship impacts by concrete collars. Because tbe bridge will be located upstream of an island where tbe river breaks into two distinct navigation channels, tbe design creates two vessel navigation envelopesone on tbe nortb 170 m wide and 36.9 m bigh for the primary navigation channel and the other 120 ni wide and 16.4 m bigb. The foundation system, which bas been designed to resist lateral ship impact loads, will be composed of 2.5 m diameter reinforced-concrete sbafts. Steel casings will be used for tbe upper portions ofthe shafts. The lower portions will be uncased. The sbafts will reach a depth of approximately 85 to 911 ni and will pass through what Bergman describes as soft river deposits. They will be installed tbrough precastconcrete templates that will later be filled with concrete and reinforced to form the pile caps for the main piers. The bridge is long enough for wind loads and aerodynamics to be of concern, says Bergman. Designers employed wind tunnel tests to finetune the shape and extent of the leading edge ofthe deck to ensure tbat the bridge will perform aerodynamically. In the longitudinal direction, the cable stays, main box girders, and pylons will form two vertical

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structural planes. The main girders, the upper pylon cable anchor shaft, tbe twill wall legs of the piers, and the main transverse crossbeams for the pylons all intersect at what Bergman calls a knuckle joint. According to Bergman, ensuring that all of the structural elements fit together .it tbis location has been a significant challenge, and the design is currently benig fin^ilized. Tbe north approach to the bridge will be appro.xiniately (1.6 km long, and the south approach will be appro.xiniiiteiy 1.2 km. Tbese approaches will connect to the main spans at a set of transition piers. According to Bergman, tiie bridge is a low-profile adaptation of tbe Alex Fraser Bridge, a cable-stayed structure that also spans the Fraser River and was designed by Buckland ik Taylor. The new bridge will be located near a Katzie First Nation tribal reservation, and its design will reHect the presence ot this coninuiiiity through aesthetic themes. Railings with elements shaped like salmon will be incorporated into tliL- design, along with sculptures of golden eagles mounted near the top of tbe main pylons. Tbf Golden Crossing General Partnership (GCGP) has been contracted for CSl.l billion (U.S.S<-''M.7 million) by TransLink^Tbe Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, to design, build, finance, operate, maintain, and periodically rehabilitate the bridge and its associated road network for 35.5 years. The GCGP is wholly owned by Bilfingcr Bcrger BOT GmbH, a subsidiary of the Biltniger Berger AG, a construction firm headquartered in Mannheim. Germany. The contract was won by the Markhani, Ontario, otfice of Bilfinger Berger BOT. Inc., which is the North American development arm of Biltiiigcr Berger. The GCGP has a design/build subcontract with a group called the Goldt-n Crossing Constructors Joint Venture, which is led by Bilfinger Berger Canada, Inc.. a subsidiary headquartered in Vancouver. British Columbia, and by CH2M Hill Canada Ltd., which is headquartered in Toronto. This joint venture inclucfes a number of subcontractors, one of which is Buckland SiTaylor.
Kiiren Triuibatli

RAILWAYS

High-Speed Freight and Passenger Line to Connect Spain and France

pain and France are constructing a high-speed rail line that will carry both passengers and freight between the two countries without requirint:!; a change of gauge. Most trains passing between Spain and France must stop at the border to physically change or adjust the gaut^c of their wheel sets because Spain has historically used a wider tr;ick gauge than that used hy France and most of the rest of Furope. The Spanish use a 1.5 in wide gauge, in contrast to the European standard of 1.4 m, explains Eusebio Corregel, the general manager of T.P. Ferro Coiicesionaria. S.A.. of Figueres. Spain. T.P. Ferro is a joint Spanish-French Tunnel Route
South entrance ot thetuntiel Notth entrance of the tunnel

company that will build the new line for the two governments and operate It for a period of at least 50 years. The principal shareholders of T.P. Ferro are Eiffage, S.A., of Paris, and Actividades de Construccion y Servicios, S.A., of Madrid, together with the latter's Dragados subsidiary. The 44.4 km double-track, electrified line is being constructed on a north-south alignment between the French town of Perpignaii and the Spanish town of Figueres, passing beneath the Pyrenees via an 8.2 km twin-bore tunnel. The entire line19.8 km in Spain and 24.6 km in France-is being constructed to

the European standard gauge, with a bypass crossing in the shape of a figure eight planned near Perpignan to accommodate Spanish and French trains that must travel on opposite sides of the track in their own countries, explains Rauion Conde. the director of marketing and communications at T.P. Ferro. From Perpignaii and Figueres, the trains will eventually connect to other high-speed lines in Europe or in Spain that also use the European gauge, improving access between such major ports as Barcelona and Marseille after other high-speed line projects in Spain and France are completed.

Viaduct over the Tech River Perpignan

Figueres

Civil Engineering OC:T()BEH 2006