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The Design of Modern Steel Bridges - TEDI

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30 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Design</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Steel</strong> <strong>Bridges</strong><br />

Figure 1.30 Pont de Normandie, France.<br />

proposed to have a central span <strong>of</strong> 1018 m (3340 ft). <strong>The</strong> two single towers <strong>of</strong><br />

this bridge will rise 290 m (951 ft), in concrete construction under deck level<br />

and in steel above. This bridge is planned to be built by 2008.<br />

In the last decade China has made a rapid progress in building long-span<br />

bridges. <strong>The</strong> Chinese authorities have proposals to build Sutong Bridge over<br />

the Yangtsi river near Shanghai with a cable-stayed main span <strong>of</strong> 1100 m<br />

(3609 ft) and Shanghai–Chongming Bridge over the same river with a 1200 m<br />

(3937 ft) central cable-stayed span.<br />

Multiple cable-stayed spans, with towers strong enough to resist substantial<br />

differential tensions in the cable stays <strong>of</strong> adjacent spans, was adopted for Tin<br />

Kau Bridge in Hong Kong, with two central spans <strong>of</strong> 448 m (1470 ft) and 475 m<br />

(1558 ft). Over the Corinth Sea in Greece, connecting Rion and Antirion,<br />

a bridge is being built with two 560 m (1837 ft) cable-stayed spans. Millau<br />

Viaduct in south-east France has been proposed to have six spans <strong>of</strong> 350 m<br />

(1148 ft) and two spans <strong>of</strong> 240 m (787 ft) built end-to-end and supported by<br />

towers that will rise 235 m (771 ft).<br />

For cable-stayed bridges with concrete deck girders, mention should be<br />

made <strong>of</strong> the Brotonne Bridge at Rouen in France opened in 1977 with 320 m<br />

(1050 ft) span, Sunshine Skyway at Tampa Bay, Florida, opened in 1987 with<br />

366 m (1200 ft) span, and Barrios du Luna in Spain with 440 m (1444 ft) span.<br />

In the early days <strong>of</strong> steel bridge construction, riveting and bolting were the<br />

means <strong>of</strong> connecting component parts in plate and trussed girders. <strong>The</strong> box<br />

girder type <strong>of</strong> construction was the exception to the general practice, e.g.<br />

Stephenson’s railway bridges at Menai and Conway. Electric open-arc welding<br />

was developed in the 1930s and the Second World War saw its rapid expansion.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n followed the trend <strong>of</strong> stiffened plate construction and friction-grip<br />

bolting. Rivets gradually gave way to shop welding and friction-grip bolting on

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