VINCI - 2005 annual report

COHESTRAND, THE HIGH PERFORMANCE STRAND
FOR SUSPENSION BRIDGES
Winning the fi nal Grand Prize in the VINCI 2005 Innovation Awards Competition, the Cohestrand strand confi rms Freyssinet’s
technological edge in superstructures. This promising suspension bridge supporting cable system overcomes a weakness common in this type of
cable by applying a technique that had previously been successfully used in cable stays. It consists of individually protecting each strand with a polyethylene
sleeve, which, in the case of Cohestrand, completely adheres to the steel wires. Tested in the laboratory for fi ve years and then on a private structure, The
Cohestrand cable boasts a durability of over 100 years. It is easily implemented, providing a particularly cost-effective solution for medium-span bridges. The
Kanne road bridge (above), built over the Albert canal in Belgium in 2005, is the fi rst industrial application of the process.
Bottom left. On the LGV Est high-speed rail line between Paris and Strasbourg, the last earthmoving works packages were completed in 2005.
Centre. Built across the Nile 150 km from Luxor, Egypt, the Naga Hammadi dam will regulate the fl ow of the river, generate electricity
and irrigate the agricultural land in the valley.
Bottom right. In Sweden, the 215 metre long, 3,100 tonne Åsa tunnel boring machine will be boring the Hallandsås double rail tunnel
(two tubes, each 5.5 km long) along the future high-speed Gothenburg-Malmö rail line.
94
VINCI 2005 ANNUAL REPORT