Bridge collapse near Anegundi, India

There has been another tragic incident during the construction of a bridge. This time in India. Apparently a cable stayed bride over the Tungabhadra river failed during construction. There are several reports from different media organizations but at this stage the number of dead and injured workers and the cause of the incident have not been established.


From the photographs it looks as if it was a single tower asymetric, concrete deck cable stayed bridge and they were progressing on the erection of the main span


Photos were retrived from this website



Other report


There is never an acceptable excuse for something like this to happen!

Anothe bump on the road for the Thames Gateway Bridge project in London, UK. The story, taken from the Guardian Newspaper (incidentally one of my favourite British newspapers) indicates that the new London Mayor has scrapped the plans.
I see this more like a delay and not the final word because the bridge in question is actually required. Large infrastructures these days take a lot longer to achieve. Consultation processes and concerns about the environment, traffic increases, urban planning,... All these items, which, of course ought to be considered, tend to extend the planning process for years. While maintaining their function and validity, we should find a way to speed them up, so that projects are approbed, scrapped or modified accordingly to the public consultation process in a question of months or 1 to 2 years, rather than the 1 or 2 decades that some projects have been discussed so far.


Transport for London scraps plans for six-lane road bridge London Mayor Boris Johnson scraps scheme amid strong opposition from environmental campaigners

Boris Johnson, the London mayor, has shelved £3.5bn of transport schemes in the capital, including the Thames Gateway bridge, as part of multibillion-pound cost cuts. Johnson said today the move ended the "deception" of his predecessor, Ken Livingstone, who had ordered officials to draw up plans for the Thames Gateway project amid strong opposition from environmental campaigners.

"I am stopping the deception of keeping hopes alive when there is no funding for these schemes," said Johnson.

Other proposals taken off the drawing board today include the £1.3bn cross river tram; a £500m tram scheme for Oxford Street in the centre of the capital; and a £70m extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Dagenham.

The mayor also revealed plans to save £2.4bn in costs at Transport for London, including the loss of hundreds of jobs among TfL's 22,000-strong workforce.

The cost drive and sidelining of unfunded schemes were announced alongside an £80bn investment programme over the next decade. The programme includes bringing back the routemaster bus, upgrading the tube network and building the £16bn Crossrail underground link between Heathrow airport and east London.

"These cuts need to be seen in the context of the biggest investment in London transport for a generation," said Johnson.

Green campaigners welcomed the scrapping of the motorway-scale Thames Gateway road bridge as one of the most significant rejections of car traffic ever made.

The decision by TfL follows a year-long public inquiry which rejected the £450m bridge for environmental, social and economic reasons. The inquiry was to reopen next year after further pressure businesses.

"I have always been in favour of another crossing. But I don't think that this idea was the right one," said Johnson.

He said Transport for London would "look again" at proposals for a crossing at Silvertown, near London City Airport in Docklands. He argued the Thames Gateway area had sufficient transport links for the nearly 100,000 new homes that will be built there over the next decade.

Supporters of the bridge between Beckton and Thamesmead in east London argued it would reduce journey times and make east London a more attractive place for business. But evidence at the inquiry showed it would encourage car use, bringing more air and noise pollution and increasing carbon emissions.

The bridge was to pass through some of Britain's most deprived communities in east London, but leading transport analysts showed it would not bring regeneration to these areas.

Local resident groups joined national environment groups in welcoming the decision.

"This was not a local bridge for local people as it was billed. It was never designed to regenerate the area. It was just going to cause worse air and noise pollution," said Jacqui Wise, coordinator of the Action Group Against the Bridge.

Jenny Bates, London campaigns coordinator for Friends of the Earth, said: "This was an ill-conceived and outdated attempt to regenerate an area with road-building and would have blighted the area and led to more traffic, congestion and climate change.

"It would have brought terrible problems for some of the most deprived communities in Britain. We must find better ways of helping east London.

" It was the second time in 12 years that business interests had tried but failed to get a major Thames crossing built. In 1993, the proposed east London river crossing, which would have would destroyed Oxleas wood, one of London's last remaining areas of ancient woodland, was dropped after similar local opposition.

Darren Johnson, a Green member of the London assembly, said: "Scrapping this six-lane new road across the Thames is good news for the environment and for the local people who have spent years fighting this proposal. It was the single biggest mistake of the previous mayor, who spent £30m of taxpayers' money preparing a traffic-generating monster."

The Thames gateway bridge was first proposed in 1996 by Stephen Norris when he was transport minister in the last Conservative government. In a remarkable reversal, Norris was instrumental in having the bridge scrapped — he now sits on the TfL board that ruled against it.

Johnson pledged to scrap the bridge in his election manifesto this year but supports the need for an extra river crossing in the east of London.

Jannette Graham, a resident of the Windsor Park estate in Beckton which would have been within 50 metres of the bridge, said: "We are ecstatic. People here, who are largely ethnic communities and do not have a political voice, have had far too much noise and pollution already. This is a victory for the people. It makes a whole heap of difference around here."

Taken from the Guardian newspaper on line

Eleven dead in SW China crane accident

There has been a serious accident in a bridge in China. The Furongjiang Bridge near Chongquing, in southwest China, is under construction and there was an accident in which 11 workers were killed and 12 injured. There is very little information available, but it seems that a container carrying the workers was moved by a 'crane" when one of the lines broke and the container fell.

From the available photos it would appear that the bridge had a high line system to crane materials and workers on the site. High line systems are used wherever conventional crane access is not practicable. So most likely it was not a crane but the system what failed and caused the accident. The container (second photograph) does not look much more than an old skip.

Whenever I find about any such accident, my mind starts racing, thinking about what the possible causes were and how I am going to prevent anything similar from happening on any job I am involved with. Unfortunately accidents do happen however, bridge construction is a dangerous business!

There are several news reports on this accicent. This one is the best.

Load tests

In Spain load tests on bridges are mandatory after construction and prior to opening to traffic. The tests are designed to, obviously, ensure that abridge is capable of supporting the required live load, but also to ensure it is behaving as planned. This is achieved by measuring deflections during the test and comparing them to expected values.

This first photograph shows the load test carried out on the Serreria Bridge in Valencia. While the second photograph corresponds to the Viaduct over the Turia river for a high speed railway line. My understanding is that the test will be repeated with trains once the rails and electrical supply are installed.

Obviously load tests imply extra costs, but I think that they are a very prudent measure on bridges of new construction and there is merit to the idea of implementing them on other countries. I have no experience, and I would love to hear from somebody who has been involved on them.

Pitt River Bridge project marks milestone

PITT MEADOWS, BRITISH COLUMBIA — The Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project marked a milestone today as it reached the two-thirds completion mark, announced British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, the Honourable James Moore, federal Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific Gateway) (2010 Olympics) (Official Languages), and British Columbia's Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Kevin Falcon.

"The Pitt River Bridge Crossing is a significant gateway for British Columbia and it's particularly important to the people of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and surrounding communities," said Premier Campbell. "Traffic over the Pitt River Bridge has almost tripled since 1985 and, with the new Golden Ears Bridge opening, more growth will follow. This new bridge and interchange will significantly improve safety and reliability along this rapidly growing transportation corridor by allowing traffic to flow more smoothly."

"The Pitt River crossing connects key economic and transportation facilities with the Greater Vancouver Area," said Secretary of State Moore. "This investment demonstrates the federal government's commitment to facilitating Canada's trade with the Asia-Pacific region while minimizing its impact on the communities through which it must move."

The Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project includes a new seven-lane bridge that will replace the existing swing bridges, as well as an interchange to replace the current Lougheed Highway and Mary Hill Bypass intersection. The design incorporates more than $8.5 million in pedestrian and cycling features, including bicycle lanes across the new bridge. The design also allows for one lane to be added in the future. The additional lane could meet future demand for vehicle use or light rail rapid transit and could be used for high-occupancy vehicles and RapidBus in the interim.

The existing intersection at Lougheed Highway and Mary Hill Bypass will be replaced with a grade-separated interchange with on- and off-ramps that would allow for the free flow of traffic. In combination with the new bridge, these improvements will allow for the elimination of the current counterflow system.

"Hitting this milestone shows us just how far we've come on this important project," said Minister Falcon. "Construction is on schedule and within budget, and we can see the excellent results, including pile driving, deck panel placement and cable installation. When the new bridge opens in 2009, it will not only boost safety and ease traffic congestion, it will also have positive economic and environmental benefits for the entire region."

On February 9, 2007, the provincial and federal governments announced a cost-sharing agreement for the $198-million project. The Province of British Columbia is providing $108 million, and the Government of Canada is providing up to $90 million through the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative.

The Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project received environmental certification in July 2006. The new bridge is slated to open in late 2009. A comprehensive traffic management plan is in place to ensure construction proceeds with minimal traffic disruptions.

On October 11, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, a $1-billion federal initiative. In two years, the Government of Canada has partnered with British Columbia and other western provinces, municipalities and the private sector to announce strategic infrastructure projects worth nearly $2.5 billion, including federal contributions of over $900 million.

The Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative brings together infrastructure, policy, governance and operational issues in an integrated, multimodal, public-private strategy to strengthen Canada's competitive performance in international commerce with the Asia-Pacific region.

Given its strategic location linking the CP Intermodal Terminal and Lower Mainland ports, the Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project is a critical component of the Gateway Program. The province's $3-billion Gateway Program will improve roads and bridges for people, goods and transit throughout Metro Vancouver. The Gateway Program is divided into three projects: Port Mann/Highway 1; South Fraser Perimeter Road; and the Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange project.

From Canada News Centre

More information here and construction camera here.

Robinson Bridge - Collapse during construction

More than a dozen people have been injured after a bridge under construction collapsed Monday afternoon.

Officials say 14 construction workers received minor injuries, including broken bones as they were pouring concrete. Authorities say the bridge's support structure, which may have been up to 30 feet high, collapsed. Some of the workers rode the debris down to the ground, officials say. All workers have been accounted for. None of the injuries are life threatening.

Authorities are worried that there could be additional collapses due to the impact from the first collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating as well as the Idaho Transportation Department. "We are relieved that no one was seriously hurt by this accident," said Pamela Lowe, Idaho Transportation Department director. "We will begin immediately to work with the contractor to learn what happened."



Work started in late September to replace the I-84 overpasses at Robinson Boulevard and Black Cat Road as part of the I-84 widening project from Meridian to Nampa. Work on both bridges has been suspended pending an investigation. Graham Construction and Management of Spokane is the contractor on this $8.5 million project to rebuild the bridges.

From www.2news.tv