Shatt-Al-Basrah Bridge A Swing Bridge with a Hydraulic Drive

Shatt-Al-BasrahBrldge- Aswlng brldgewitha hydraulicdrive4 The locking systemIn the closed (traffic) position, the bridge is locked at 4poims, with rwo separate systems at the ends of thebridge. In view of the unusual wetght of the bridge, aspecial design of liiingilocking system had to be producedby Waagner Biro.AS mentioned earlier, the bridge is of hollow section prestressedconcrete. The bcking device for the bridge isfined within these hoilow sections. The lining section ofthe lo&, and also the mating pans for the lockingdevices are mourned in the fixed sections of the bridge.This separate arrangement of the locking and liftingmechanisms was necessary due to the bridge bendingsome 150 mm during the opening phase. Such a largebending mvemem cannot be accepted by a speciallyformed locking device, and must be taken up by theseparate lining mechanism.The locking mechanism munted in the moving bridgeconsists of lwo locks 5700 mm apart at each end of thebndge, mounted in a steel framewoh. The bolts are ofrectangular section 400 x 550 mrn. Both verliil andhorkontal guides have roller bearings, thus perminingthe kking forces to be relatively low. The drive to thekks is via a direct coupled hydraulic qlinder. The designcan be seen in figure 4..LFQ. 4: Siutl-#BaMh W e , bdr4 systemI