Swivel Construction of a Cable-Stayed Bridge for Minimal Disturbance to Adjacent Railways
Dianyong Wang, Zhongxiang Liu, Jie Gao, Chuan Li, Tong Guo
Abstract
The construction process of Longyan Bridge was constrained by the conditions at the construction site. At the site, the operation of multiple urban arteries (one river, two railways and two highways) cannot be interrupted. Additionally, this single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge is located in a karst area. To accelerate the construction of the bridge, a swivel construction method was adopted for minimal disturbance to the traffic and environment. It was decided to launch the steel box-girder through the cast-in-situ pylon without intersecting with the traffic lines and to rotate the asymmetric superstructure by 21° via a spherical swivel system. This method allows construction preparation and implementation in the most efficient way within the available time. This paper elaborates the swivel construction of the bridge where the swivel weight is heaviest (i.e. 2.36×107 kg) in a karst area. The design method for the spherical hinge is presented as an example and validated, in which a simplified method and engineering practice are integrated. Additionally, monitoring and control measures during the rotation process and weighing test are conducted to achieve the stability and safety of the construction. Useful reference describing the swivel construction is provided that can be particularly instructive for future accelerated bridge construction.