Suez Canal, Egypt
Many of our bridge projects involve major estuarine or river
crossings, where navigation conditions present special design
issues, such as:
- navigation clearances, both width and airdraft
- the identification of vessel types and the quantification of
impact resistance required for the bridge substructure and
foundations
- design of the required impact protection
- risk assessment, from the viewpoints of both bridge integrity
and safety of marine operations
- interface of marine operations with bridge construction
An example of a project experiencing the above issues is Tsing Ma
Bridge, a major suspension bridge crossing the busy Ma Wan Channel
in Hong Kong. The channel is trafficked by hundreds of vessels
every day, including high speed ferries and ships up to 220,000
DWT. Our design included navigation studies, risk assessments and
protection of the towers against vessel impact. During the
supervision of the construction, liaison with the marine
authorities was vital, particularly when the deck units were lifted
into place from barges in the channel.
Other notable bridges where navigation issues and ship impact
protection have been key elements of the project are:
Swale Crossing, UK – concept design, study of the
impact on marine navigation and ship simulation studies for
operational safety- Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong – independent check of the major
cable stayed bridge which spans the entrance to a container
terminal and whose main towers are designed against ship impact
from a range of vessels up to 105,000 DWT
- New Galata Bridge, Turkey – design check and construction
supervision of a bascule bridge crossing the heavily trafficked
Golden Horn in Istanbul
- QE II Bridge, UK – client’s agent for the only major crossing
of the length of the River Thames that carries large vessels, up to
65,000 DWT
