Russky Bridge

Russky Bridge
File:Bridge to Russky Island.jpg Bridge is completed as of July, 2012
Coordinates	43°03′47″N 131°54′30″E
Carries	6 lanes, (3 lanes each way)
Crosses	Eastern Bosphorus Strait
Locale	Vladivostok (Nazimov peninsula) & Russky Island (Novosilsky cape)
Official name	Russky Bridge
Maintained by	SK MOST and NPO Mostovik
Characteristics
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Total length	3,100 meters (10,200 ft)
Width	29.5 meters (97 ft)
Longest span	1,104 meters (3,622 ft)
Clearance above	70 m
History
Opened	July 2012
Location

The Russky Bridge (Russian: Русский мост) is a bridge built across the Eastern Bosphorus strait, to serve the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation that took place in Vladivostok in 2012. The bridge connects the mainland part of the city (Nazimov peninsula) with Russky Island, where the main activities of the summit are to take place. The bridge was completed in July 2012 and opened by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. On September 3, 2012, the bridge was officially given its name.

Overview

The bridge to the Russky island is the world's largest cable-stayed bridge, the 1104 m long central span of which has established a new record in the world bridge building practice.

The bridge will also have the second highest pylons after the Millau Viaduct and the longest cable stays.

The design of the bridge crossing has been determined on the basis of two primary factors:

• Shortest coast-to-coast distance in the bridge crossing location 1460 m. Navigable channel depth is up to 50 m.
• The locality of the bridge crossing construction site is characterized by severe climate conditions: temperatures vary from -31ºC to 37ºC, storm wind velocity of up to 36 m/s, storm wave height of up to 6 m, ice formation in winter of up to 70 cm thick.

Bridge specification

• Bridge footprint: 60+72+3x84+1104+3x84+72+60 m
• Total bridge length: 1885.53 m
• Total length incl. trestles: 3100 m
• Central channel span length: 1104 m
• Bridge width: 29.5 m
• Bridge roadway breadth: 23.8 m
• Number of driving lanes: 4 (two in each direction)
• Under clearance: 70 m
• Number of bridge towers: 2
• Pylons’ height: 320.9 m
• Number of cable stays: 168
• Longest / shortest cable stay: 579.83/135.771 m

Criticism

The costs and the fact of the construction of the bridge are widely criticized by Russian political opposition . In January 2007, Vladimir Putin, then-President of Russia, stated that holding a summit in Vladivostok is a distinct possibility, and that at least 100 billion rubles would be required to prepare the city for the summit, which, at the time, was three-times more than the budget of Primorsky Krai as a whole.. As of 2012, the costs of construction of the bridge to Russkiy Island with population of only 5 thousand inhabitants is expected to surpass $1 billion USD. The throughput of the bridge is 50 000 cars per day which many times exceeds the existing population. Project description on the site of the general contractor does not list project costs.

There has also been criticism of the fact that the paved road ends in a dead end just beyond the bridge. Local residents who live on the other side of the island have no access to telephones, public lighting or running water.

Pylons construction

Span approach construction, 2009

Pylon construction at the start, September 2009

The piles will be driven as deep as 77 m below ground, and on the island side the 120 auger piles will be piled under each of the two 320-m high bridge towers.

The pylons will be concreted using custom self-climbing forms in pours of 4.5 m. A crane will be used on the first three pours, afterwards the formwork will start unaided moving through the hydraulic motion of modular elements.

The pylons will be A-shaped, therefore, the use of standard forms will not be feasible. An individual set of forms has been arranged for each bridge tower.

Transition between section types will be carried out at summer levels at the elevations of 66.26 m and 191.48 m.

The use of self-climbing forms will make it possible to achieve better quality and decrease the time of construction of cast-in-situ reinforced concrete structures by half as much again.

Cable stays anchorage zone starts at the elevation of 197.5 m. The installation of cable stay pairs and casting of bridge tower bodies will be carried out simultaneously, dramatically reducing the construction period.

Central Span Structure

The span structure has an aerodynamic cross-section to assume squally wind loads. The shape of the span cross-section has been determined based on aerodynamic design and optimized according to the results of experimental processing of the scale model in the detailed design phase.

Welded field connections are used for longitudinal and transversal joints of the cap sheet of the orthotropic plate and lower ribbed plate. For joints of vertical walls of the blocks, longitudinal ribs, transversal beams and diaphragms, field connections are used provided by means of high-strength bolts

Large-sized prefabricated sections for installation of the central span will be delivered by barges to the erection site and hoisted by a crane to a 76-m height. Here, the elements will be abutted and cable stays will be attached to them.

Cable-Stayed System

A cable-stayed system assumes all static and dynamic loads on which the very existence of the bridge depends. Cable stays are not designed to endure the entire lifetime of the bridge, but they are repairable and have the best possible protection from natural disasters and other adverse impacts. PSS cable stays consist of parallel strands of 15.7 mm diameter; every strand consists of 7 galvanized wires. Cable stays incorporate from 13 to 79 strands. The length of the shortest cable stay will be 135.771 m, the longest – 579.83 m. The protective housings of the cable stays will be made from HDPE and will have the following features: UV resistance; resistance to local climate conditions of Vladivostok (temperature range from minus 40°C to plus 40°C) and environmental aggressiveness.

Construction of the bridge to Russky Island will be completed in Quarter II, 2012. Though being unique in its main parameters, the bridge will be constructed in a record-breaking time of 43 months.

External links

• Construction of the bridge to Russky Island: news and photos from start until today
• Russian Bridge closed over the Eastern Bosphorus Strait (photo) (Русский мост сомкнулся над проливом Босфор Восточный (фото))