96
Category 2: Civil Structures
2
Swing Bridge Simpson Bay - St-Maarten, Caribbean
SE
Owner
Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation
Architect
Hollandia Infra BV
General Contractor
Volker Construction International
Engineering Office
Ingenieursbureau Stendess N.V.
Construction Period 01/2013 - 12/2013
The St-Maarten swing bridge is a part of the 726 m long Causeway road
bridge crossing the Simpson Bay in the Caribbean. This bridge was built
to improve access to the airport and Cole Bay.
The steel swing cable bridge has a span of 68 m, a width of 12.2 m and
a weight of 450 tons. The bridge has two 35 m high pylons. The pivot
point is in the centre of the bridge. The bridge was completely built up
in the Hollandia Infra workshop in the Netherlands and shipped to the
Caribbean.
Determining the pretension in the stays was an important aspect in the
design of the bridge. This force had to be determined for the different
positions of the bridge. When the bridge was in the closed position, there
was always a minimal pressure necessary at the end bearings, although
in this position the deformation of the stays had to be limited by realizing a
minimal pretension force in the stays. In the open position, the force in the
last stays becomes a determinant and a check of the strength of the stays
was necessary. The interaction between the above mentioned phenomena
determined the position, type and pretension force of the stays.
A second order calculation was needed for the check of the pylon based
on a stability calculation. For the erection engineering, the different
construction stages had to be examined. The dynamic behaviour of the
bridge also needed to be checked.
Ingenieursbureau Stendess N.V.
Contact
Jan Braeckman
Address Grote Baan 18
9920 Lovendegem, Belgium
Website
Stendess calculates and draws complex steel constructions
in a high
quality and efficient manner while seeking economically responsible and
substantial solutions for specific technical stability issues. Thanks to the
integral service, where the design of the metal superstructure and the
concrete substructure are calculated and drawn by experts in the same
office, the building owner and principal contractor retain 100% control over
the complete structure. References demonstrate the
multidisciplinary
knowledge
and ability of our engineers and designers in the market of
bridges, industry, utility and other projects located
worldwide
.
