Self-climbing formwork solution for bridge pylons

Harsco Infrastructure has provided self-climbing formwork (SCF), which is helping ensure quick and safe access during the construction of a 320m tall pylon for the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge.
February 27, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Harsco Infrastructure’s self-climbing formwork is used on the 320m tall pylon of the Russky Island Bridge

Harsco Infrastructure has provided self-climbing formwork (SCF), which is helping ensure quick and safe access during the construction of a 320m tall pylon for the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge.

With its 1,100m central span the 3,100m Russky Island Bridge will ultimately be the world’s longest and tallest cable-stayed bridge. Traversing the Eastern Bosphorus, the US$490 million bridge will link the far east port of Vladivostok with Russky Island, which belongs to the Russian city.

Russian building contractor, SK MOST, is aiming for a record-breaking construction period
of just 43 months so that the bridge’s four-lane road is open in time for the 2868 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit at the end of 2012.

The 3234 Harsco solution provides a fully enclosed temporary working environment which protects against extreme weather conditions during construction of the pylon and its 70m tall approach piers, which together form part of the record-breaking bridge.    

SPECIFICATION
Russky Island Bridge

•Bridge deck width (steel structure): 21m

•Headroom under bridge: 70m

•Bridge length: 1,885.53m

•Total bridge length: 3,100m

•Largest span: 1,104m

•Height of bridge pylons: 320.9m

•Budget: €360 millionDuring the technical planning phase Harsco’s SCF team used its expertise to accelerate the construction schedule and ensure maximum safety, particularly for the two climbing units used on the pylon. This eliminated the need for any time-consuming conversion work and resulted in a formwork and platform solution that is said to be perfectly adapted to the tapering and inclined geometry of the pylon itself.


At the base, this calls for a ground plan of 7.8 x 13m with a 2m wall thickness, tapering to 7.1 x 7m with a 0.7m wall thickness at the top. The in-depth planning means that only a single work platform has to be removed from the SCF assembly, which is done during a pre-scheduled break in construction work. All other adjustments and climbing can be carried out safely and without holding up the site work unnecessarily.

To accommodate the tight construction schedule the system was specifically designed to allow adjustments to the SCF, and the 72 climbing cycles of 4.5m, to be performed quickly.

Rigid separation between the steelfixing levels and the shuttering and climbing operations means that once the steelfixing is completed, the formwork can be retracted and cleaned before the climbing shoes are fitted and the climbing rails raised and tied for the next pouring cycle. This allows the SCF platforms to be raised immediately after completion of the steelfixing and the formwork to be moved into its new position ready for the next pour. Once pouring is complete, the steelfixing for the next cycle can begin.

To protect men and materials from the severe climate, the self-climbing formwork is fully enclosed, complete with a modular, movable roof.

The exceptionally high load-bearing capacity of Harsco’s SCF brackets (150 kN vertically and 100 kN horizontally) is crucial to this project. The pylon’s special geometry, and continuous tapering, mean that only six of the 22 brackets employed actually climb vertically, with the others climbing at transverse and often changing angles of up to 5% from the vertical. Despite its high load-bearing capacity each SCF bracket requires just a single tie, with installation of the tie cones being a simple task. The cones only need to be positioned at the correct horizontal intervals, and unlike pairs of cones, they do not need to be set at a precisely measured angle.

Harsco is providing a formwork foreman and a number of technicians to support the project and ensure that the meticulously planned work processes are followed on site.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Almost gone: Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge deconstructed
    August 14, 2015
    Three years ago a welder’s cut halved Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge. David Arminas reports from the banks of the Fraser River. By the time this issue of World Highways reaches you, one of Canada’s iconic steel arch bridges will be a shadow of its former self. It’s been a three-year demolition job since the first cut across the deck of the old Port Mann Bridge just outside the city of Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific coast. A new 10-lane 2.2km Port Mann Bridge opened in 2012 (see box). It runs parallel to the o
    Read More
  • Europe closes in on the crossings
    September 27, 2017
    The Mersey Gateway bridge project off England’s west coast passed a milestone recently with the first joining of two of the deck sections. The key segments, as the sections are called, link the north approach viaduct to the north pylon deck span and are the first of four deck-joins scheduled for this summer. In total, there are five sections of bridge deck and approach roads that need to be joined.
    Read More
  • Cut and cover consolidation
    July 10, 2012
    Foundation specialist Forasol has developed an innovative technique for anchor drilling that is improving ground consolidation on road projects in Switzerland. The technique has been widely used on a number of highway projects in the country, including construction of a new 1.3km long cut-and-cover trench for the A9 highway in south western Switzerland.
    Read More
  • PERI helping to build world’s longest underwater tunnel
    April 4, 2013
    In China, PERI is playing a crucial role in the construction of the world’s longest underwater tunnel The 6km tunnel is part of a new 35km long road connection across the Pearl River bay in southern China, aiming to allow Hong Kong to grow both physically and economically with Macau and also Zhuhai on mainland China. In a huge field factory near the underwater tunnel site, two production lines are being used to produce a total of 33 tunnel elements. Each of the reinforced concrete tubes for the standard sec
    Read More

Highlighted Content