JANUARY/APRIL 2003 - No.

216

Folder

Rescuing reyssinet

a historic structure
 Contents

Contents
AMERICA
ARGENTINA
Freyssinet-Tierra Armada S.A.
Buenos Aires
Phone: (54.11) 43 72 72 91
Fax: (54.11) 43 72 51 79

BRAZIL
STUP Premoldados Ltda
São Paulo
Phone: (55.11) 3873 2734
Fax: (55.11) 3672 8502

Freyssinet Ltda
Rio de Janeiro
Phone: (55.21) 2221 8500
Fax: (55.21) 3852 7926
Terra Armada Ltda
EUROPE
BELGIUM
Freyssinet Belgium N.V.
Vilvoorde
Phone: (32.2) 252 07 40
Fax: (32.2) 252 24 43
Terre Armée Belgium
Vilvoorde
Phone: (32.2) 252 43 24
Fax: (32.2) 252 24 43
DENMARK
A/S Skandinavisk
Spaendbeton
Vaerlose
Phone: (45.44) 35 08 11
Fax: (45.44) 35 08 10
FINLAND
NETHERLANDS
Freyssinet Nederland B.V.
Waddinxveen
Phone: (31.18) 26 30 888
Fax: (31.18) 26 30 152
Terre Armée B.V.
Breda
Phone: (31.76) 531 93 32
Fax: (31.76) 531 99 43

NORWAY
A/S Skandinavisk Spennbetong
Snarøya
Phone: (47.67) 53 91 74

POLAND
Freyssinet Polska Sp. z o.o.
Milanòwek
Ireland
56 stay cables to cross
the Boyne River
p. 15
Netherla
24 hig
secur
p. 16
Rio de Janeiro OY Jaennebetoni
Phone: (55.21) 2233 7353 Helsingfors Phone: (48.22) 724 6893
Fax: (55.21) 2263 4842 Fax: (48.22) 724 68 93
FRANCE
CANADA Freyssinet International
PORTUGAL
Reinforced Earth Company Ltd & Cie Armol-Freyssinet S.A.
Mississauga Vélizy Lisbon
Phone: (1.905) 564 08 96 Phone: (33.1) 46 01 84 84 Phone: (351.21) 716 1675
Fax: (1.905) 564 26 09 Fax: (33.1) 46 01 85 85 Fax: (351.21) 716 4051

Freyssinet France Terra Armada Ltda

COLOMBIA
Vélizy Lisbon
STUP de Colombia Ltda Phone: (351.21) 716 1675
Phone: (33.1) 46 01 84 84
Bogota Fax: (33.1) 46 01 85 85 Fax: (351.21) 716 4051
Phone: (57.1) 236 3786
Fax: (57.1) 610 38 98 PPC ROMANIA
Tierra Armada Saint-Rémy Freyrom S.A.
Phone: (33.3) 85 42 15 15 Bucarest
Bogota
Fax: (33.3) 85 42 15 10 Phone: (40.21) 220 28 28
Phone: (57.1) 236 37 86
Fax: (57.1) 610 38 98 Fax: (40.21) 220 45 41
Terre Armée France
EL SALVADOR Vélizy SPAIN
Phone: (33.1) 46 01 84 84 Freyssinet S.A. Romania
Fessic S.A. de C.V. Fax: (33.1) 46 01 85 85 Madrid
La Libertad
Phone: (503) 2 78 86 03 Ménard Soltraitement
Phone: (34.91) 323 95 00
Fax: (34.91) 323 95 51
40 000 m2 consoli
Fax: (503) 2 78 04 45 Nozay
Phone: (33.1) 69 01 37 38 Tierra Armada S.A. and drained
GUATEMALA Fax: (33.1) 69 01 75 05 Madrid
Presforzados Técnicos S.A.
Guatemala City
FYROM
Phone: (34.91) 323 95 00
Fax: (34.91) 323 95 11 p. 12
Phone: (502) 2204 236 Freyssinet Balkans
SWEDEN
Fax: (502) 250 01 50 Skopje
Phone: (389.2) 118 549 AB Skandinavisk
MEXICO Fax: (389.2) 118 549 Spaennbetong
Freyssinet de Mexico S.A. Malmö
GREECE Phone: (46.40) 98 14 00
Mexico D.F.
Phone: (52.55) 5250 70 00 Freyssinet Hellas S.A.
SWITZERLAND
Fax: (52.55) 5255 01 65 Athena
Phone: (30.10) 69 29 419 Freyssinet S.A.
Tierra Armada S.A. Fax: (30.10) 69 14 339 Moudon
México D.F. Phone: (41.21) 905 09 05
Phone: (52.55) 5250 1726 Fredra S.A. Fax: (41.21) 905 09 09
Fax: (52.55) 5254 8665 Athena
Phone: (30.10) 69 29 419 UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES Fax: (30.10) 69 14 339 Freyssinet Ltd
Freyssinet LLC Telford AFRICA United States
Chantilly, VA HUNGARY Phone: (44) 1952 201 901
Fax: (44) 1952 201 753
Phone: (1.703) 378 25 00
Fax: (1.703) 378 27 00
Pannon Freyssinet Ltd
Budapest Reinforced Earth
EGYPT “Vibro-replacement”
Ménard Soiltreatement Inc.
Orange, CA
Phone: (36.1) 209 1510
Fax: (36.1) 209 15 10
Company Ltd
Telford
Freyssinet Egypt
Gisa
for earthquake
Phone: (1.714) 288 84 47
Fax: (1.714) 639 87 01 IRELAND
Phone: (44) 1952 201 901
Fax: (44) 1952 201 753
Phone: (20 2) 303 69 95
Fax: (20 2) 345 52 37 resistance
The Reinforced Earth
Company
Reinforced Earth Co.
Kildare
TURKEY
Freysas
SOUTH AFRICA p. 19
Phone: (353) 4543 10 88 Freyssinet Posten Pty Ltd
Vienna, VA Istanbul
Phone: (1.703) 821 11 75 Fax: (353) 4543 31 45 Olifantsfontein
Phone: (90.216) 349 87 75
Fax: (1.703) 821 18 15 Fax: (90.216) 349 63 75 Phone: (27.11) 316 21 74
ITALY Fax: (27.11) 316 29 18
VENEZUELA Freyssinet - Terra Armata Reinforced Earth
S.r.l Company AIS Reinforced Earth Pty Ltd
Tierra Armada Ca
Roma Istanbul Johannesburg
Caracas
Phone: (58.212) 266 47 21 Phone: (39.06) 418 771 Phone: (90.216) 492 8424 Phone: (27.11) 726 6180
Fax: (58.212) 267 14 23 Fax: (39.06) 418 77201 Fax: (90.216) 492 3306 Fax: (27.11) 726 5908

Although Freyssinet makes every effort to supply the most precise possible information, the publishers and their employees
or agents cannot guarantee that this information is accurate and cannot accept any responsibility if it is not. Names printed
in italics in this brochure are registered trademarks of the Freyssinet Group.
Interview
Freyssinet Magazine, 1 bis, rue du Petit-Clamart 78148 Vélizy Cedex – France. Phone: +33 1 46 01 85 40.
Fax: +33 1 46 01 86 86. Internet: www.freyssinet.com
Publication manager: Claude Lascols. Project leader: Stéphane Tourneur. Contributed to this issue: Philippe
Amiot, Isabelle Angot, Amaya Arrondo, Krzysztof Berger, François Bignon, Samuel Briet, Bill Brockbank, Laure
“Specialist
Céleste, Stéphane Cognon, Jean-Philippe Fuzier, Zoran Gapic, Bertrand Garin, Albert Gilles, Michelle Haynes, Anik
Jean, Roger Lacroix, Salvador Lorente, Paul McBarron, Jan de Meyer, Albert Moizeau, Sylviane Mullenberg, Patrick
services”
p. 4
Nagle, Tomas Palomares, Susana Penas, Bertrand Petit, Jim Preston, Chris Robinson, Pierre Salanne, Pierre Sery,
Alain Tigoulet, Martin Van Den Berg. Layout: Pierre Bonnerre. Translation: Netword. Editorial secretariat: Angeline
Blard. Photos: Francis Vigouroux, Freyssinet photolibrary and subsidiaries. Cover page: Agen footbridge, photo:
Francis Vigouroux. Photo-engraving: Trameway/Pierre Bonnerre. Printing: SIO. ISSN: 1636-4112.

Freyssinet magazine 2 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Contents

ASIA
HONG KONG SINGAPORE
Freyssinet Hong Kong Ltd PSC Freyssinet (S) Pte Ltd
Kowloon Tong Singapore
Phone: (852) 27 94 03 22 Phone: (65.6) 272 96 97
Fax: (852) 23 38 32 64 Fax: (65.6) 272 38 80
Reinforced Earth Pacific Ltd
Kowloon Tong Reinforced Earth Pte Ltd
Phone: (852) 27 823 163
Singapore
ands Poland Hong Kong Fax: (852) 23 325 521
Phone: (65.6) 272 00 35
INDIA Fax: (65.6) 276 93 53
gh “Incremental Kwai Chung Reinforced Earth-Aimil Ltd SOUTH KOREA
ity houses launching” as a New Delhi Freyssinet Korea Co, Ltd

solution in extreme Terminal 4 Phone: (91.11) 695 00 01

Fax: (91.11) 695 00 11
Seoul

6 p. 17 INDONESIA
Phone: (82.2) 2056 05 00
Fax: (82.2) 515 41 85
situations! PT Freyssinet Total Sangjee Ménard Co Ltd

p. 20 Technology
Jakarta
Seoul
Phone: (82.2) 587 9286
Phone: (62.21) 830 02 22 Fax: (82.2) 587 9285
Fax: (62.21) 830 98 41
TAIWAN
JAPAN Freyssinet Taiwan Engineering
F.K.K. Taïpei
Tokyo Phone: (886.2) 274 702 77
Phone: (81.3) 35 71 86 51 Fax: (886.2) 276 650 58
Fax: (81.3) 35 74 07 10
THAILAND
KUWAIT Freyssinet Thailand Ltd
Freyssinet International et Cie Bangkok
Safat Phone: (662) 266 6088
Phone: (965) 571 49 74 Fax: (662) 266 6091
Fax: (965) 573 57 48
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
MALAYSIA Freyssinet Middle East LLC
France Freyssinet PSC (M) Sdn Bhd Abu Dhabi
Kuala Lumpur Phone: (971) 2 445 88 18
Rescuing Phone: (60.3) 79 82 85 99
Fax: (60.3) 79 81 55 30
Fax: (971) 2 445 88 16

a historic Ménard Geosystems Sdn Bhd

VIETNAM
dated structure Selangor
Freyssinet International et Cie
Hanoi
Phone: (60.3) 5632 1581
Phone: (84.4) 826 14 16
Fax: (60.3) 5632 1582
Fax: (84.4) 826 11 18
p. 8 Reinforced Earth Management
Services Sdn Bhd
Kuala Lumpur
Phone: (60.3) 6274 6162
Fax: (60.3) 6274 7212

PAKISTAN
Freyssinet -
Reinforced Earth Pvt Ltd
Islamabad
Phone: (92.51) 2270 443
Fax: (92.51) 2270 445

PHILIPPINES
Freyssinet Philippines S.A.
France Quezon City
Phone: (63.2) 921 3789
OCEANIA
Express repair! Fax: (63.2) 921 1223
AUSTRALIA
Spain
”
Concrete for a
p. 22 Austress Freyssinet Pty Ltd
Seven Hills
Phone: (61.2) 9674 40 44
cut and cover tunnel Fax: (61.2) 9674 59 67
Austress Freyssinet (VIC)
p. 23 Pty Ltd
Melbourne
Phone: (61.3) 9326 58 85
Fax: (61.3) 9326 89 96
Portugal Reinforced Earth Pty Ltd
Hornsby
Computer aided Phone: (61.2) 9910 9910
Fax: (61.2) 9910 9999
renovation NEW ZEALAND
p.17 Reinforced Earth Ltd
Auckland
Phone: (64) 9 236 33 85
Fax: (64) 9 236 33 85

Freyssinet New Zealand Ltd

Auckland
France Macedonia Australia Phone: (64) 9 236 33 85
Fax: (64) 9 236 33 85
TerraTrel walls A strategic U beams
with natural route rescued exported to
rock appearance from the water Tasmania!
p. 23 p. 18 p. 14

Freyssinet magazine 3 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Interview

Strategy

“Specialist services”
Freyssinet for structures, Terre Armée and Ménard Soltraitement
for soils, are recognised international leaders in their specialties.
Technological progress made by the Freyssinet Group, augmented
by many innovations and motivated by an ambitious research
and development policy, enables it to optimize the global
performances of its achievements, particularly in terms of durability.

Freyssinet Magazine: You define more modest projects. This is why, we do the
the Freyssinet Group’s services as best we can to provide the specialist's optimum
being specialist services. What do solution to satisfy clients, engineers and main
you mean by that? contractors who expect us to provide elegant
solutions to their problems. Obviously, this
Bruno Dupety: Our objective is simply to specialist approach does not prevent synergies
be the best in all our specialties, which incude between our teams and companies before the
construction, repair and maintenance of struc- project starts. Scientific and technical coopera-
tures, and improvement and reinforcement of tion, mutual enrichment of skills and exchange
soils. Best performance means that we will do of experience are all deeply rooted in our cul-
everything necessary in each of our specialties ture. Our intellectual is spread throughout our
to have the superior expertise, quality and network of almost seventy offices in the world,
innovation. Let us be clear about this: we usu- with the support of our transverse services,
ally work on projects with major stakes in such that a project carried out on any one con-
terms of safety, reliability, technical and eco- tinent will benefit the group's global expertise.
Bruno Dupety, nomic performances and durability. When we
CEO of the Freyssinet Group apply prestressing for a tall building, or install How is this quality requirement
“We are doing everything stay cables for some of the largest bridges in the that you mention established?
necessary to keep our expertise,
quality and innovation world, or build retaining walls for dozens of
at the highest possible level.” bridges along a motorway segment, when we In each of our specialties, we commit ourselves
consolidate several hectares of ground for the to meeting high performance criteria that are
construction of a shopping center or an indus- specified and known to our customers, and
trial site, we must accept a major responsibility which are usually stricter than standards in
and make a long term commitment. This is general use in the construction sector.
true for major projects, and is equally true for Obviously this quality question concerns our

Freyssinet magazine 4 Janvier/Avril 2003 - n° 216

Interview

Carbon fibre cables, installed on the Laroin footbridge in France, contribute to improving the durability of structures.

products, most of which are developed and introduce and improve exclusive products. We corrode concrete while protecting the original
tested in our own laboratories, but it is equally have recently developed new metal ladders walls, thus preventing major reconstruction
applicable to installation, respect for deadlines which significantly reduce the cost per m2 for work. This category also includes monitoring
and durability. Regardless of the aspect con- low structures. We have also developed special and preventive maintenance systems for civil
cerned, such as the minimum strength of mate- software and control our own production tools engineering structures, that we have helped to
rials, the behaviour of stay cables during age- that are used to develop cladding on which a develop as part of our research on increasing
ing, settlement performance of a site, and so genuine architectural expression is possible in the life of structures.
on, the purpose of this requirement is always that each element forms part of a pattern. As Finally, there are some radically new ideas that
the same, namely to provide customers with an example an aquarium now forms part of the are very different from current practice. You
the best possible quality and performance. landscape on a motorway in the United States. will understand that I cannot talk about this
Many of our projects have become are interna- type of research in detail. I will simply mention
tional structural and geotechnical references, Innovation has always been a tradi- that our group has expanded and developed
and clearly demonstrate the success of this tion within the group. What is your through major inventions, such as strand by
approach. policy in this field and what is the strand stay cables in the Freyssinet system,
most important recent progress? dynamic compaction and vacuum compaction
You tell us that technical expertise consolidation techniques used by Ménard
contributes to global optimization Soltraitement and the Reinforced Earth system
of a project. Could you give us Our research and development policy is based that has revolutionized construction tech-
some examples? on three themes. Firstly, improvement of our niques for retaining walls and bridge abut-
existing technologies. For example, in stay ments. Our collection of 140 patents is a sign of
Boyne bridge, the first cable stayed bridge in cables, there are new vibration damping this continuous technological progress that has
Ireland, is a good example of performance in devices and high performance carbon fibre been continuous throughout our history, and
technical terms and for optimization of dead- cables (installed for the first time on Laroin more than ever before we intend to continue
lines. Although we arrived on this project as a footbridge in France), these two innovations this policy!
substitute, we succeeded in mobilizing our contributing to improving the durability of
industrial resources and our site teams to bridges, in prestressing, improvements to our
install 56 stay cables with 37 to 73 strands, rep- range of anchors in order to reduce weight and
resenting 360 tonnes of steel, in less than one provide a more compact cable, which is there-
month at the end of 2002. It was a significant fore also more economic, in soil improvement,
advantage that we manufactured our stay development of bottom feed stone columns
cables and anchors ourselves. under air pressure for offshore work.
In the field of soil improvement, the future The second theme applies to new ideas that
A380 Airbus manufacturing site on a 1320000 m2 reach us from the market and that we improve
area in Hamburg illustrates the advantages of with our own expertise, usually in cooperation
our exclusive Ménard Vacuum process. This with manufacturers. This is how we developed
combines technical performance, ease of use a carbon fiber fabric in recent years for the
and competitiveness, by considerably reducing reinforcement of concrete structures, and more
consolidation times and also achieving recently the Régébeton process for which we
unequalled reliability. were awarded second prize in the building /
In mechanically stabilized embankments and public works category of the 2002 Siemens
precast arches Reinforced Earth companies are competition. This process consists of applying For retaining walls, “we are developing cladding on
leaders as a result of continuous efforts to an electrolytic paste to eliminate chlorides that which a genuine architectural pattern is possible”.

Freyssinet magazine 5 Janvier/Avril 2003 - n° 216

 In brief

Venezuela Mexico
Walls Concrete canoes… using TFC
for INTEVEP After a year's hard work, the group of seventeen of concrete techniques and other innovative
students of the Faculty of Engineering at UNAM materials. The manufactured canoes had to pass
(Independent National University of Mexico), a floatation test and participated in several races.
the prizewinner of the first national competition Freyssinet Mexico helped the students to make
for concrete canoes, were rewarded for their their Puma canoe, which required four preliminary
efforts - by winning the right to represent designs to optimize its weight, stability,
Mexico in the National Concrete Canoes hydrodynamics and aesthetics. The students chose
Championship, alongside 260 other universities! to strengthen their canoe using carbon fibers fabric
This competition was organized in Madison, (TFC) technique developed by Freyssinet, due to
in Wisconsin, in the United States, and was the flexibility of its two-directional reinforcement
sponsored by the American Concrete Institute capable of matching the shape of the structure. The
The managers of the Petróleos de and Master Builders Technologies. This Puma canoe earned a respectable place in the final
Venezuela Anónimos company (PIDVSA) project combines research, architecture and classification at this event, in which Mexico was
decided to build a sports complex on construction and is based on the development participating for the first time, arriving in 25th place.
the heights of the town of Los Teques
in the state of Miranda in Venezuela, for
the employees of its INTEVEP subsidiary,
which specializes in research and New Internet site
development of new technologies in
the oil and gas industry. The topography
of the selected site was steep and broken.
Reinforced Earth technology was therefore
chosen for construction of a foundation
surface about 15 m thick with a total
vertical surface area of 1 030 m2.
The process enabled the project
to be completed within a short time
and before the planned date!

Tahiti
Freyssisol
near Papeete
The Tahiti Development Authority
and its technical consultants decided
to use Reinforced Earth technology
to construct walls for the approaches,
as part of the development of the River
Punaruu interchange viaduct close to
Papeete. The surface area of the walls
was 1 000 m2, and their maximum
height 7.30 m. The walls are parallel and
Terre Armée France therefore proposed The Freyssinet Group is opening its new Internet site.
the use of Freyssisol reinforcement using
the “back to back” technique, to connect This site will be updated regularly, and will be a rich source
the two sides of the ramp to each other.
The Terre Armée Company designed
of information about the Group's latest news and
and supplied the wall surfaces, provided its history, its offices and plants, and all its activities.
the moulds for precasting the surface
elements, and also provided technical
assistance for precasting and assembling
the foundation blocks. Enjoy your browsing on http://www.freyssinet.com !

Freyssinet magazine 6 January/April 2003 - n° 216

In brief

Wales South Africa

A bridge
More than 7 000 controlled over the marshes
modulus columns
Since the middle of 2002, the Morgan- more than 7 000 Controlled Modulus
Vinci Joint Venture has been working Columns (CMC) 10 to 16 m long, to
on the construction of the Newport improve the soil and make it capable
Southern Distributor Road (SDR). of supporting 2 to 9 m thick road fill.
The work package for soil treatment At the moment, two CMC machines
in port areas and the adjacent tip are working on soil treatment of
was awarded to Ménard Soltraitement. about 1.5 km of road. Columns are
The soil on this site consists of a 10 to conventionally anchored into the hard
12 m thick layer of poor quality alluvials, layer by 1 m, over most of the site area.
above which lies a heterogeneous and However the environmental constraints
occasionally polluted fill material. There at the tip are very restrictive.
is a layer of gravels under the alluvials, For example, the columns cannot
with a consistency varying from dense pass through the alluvial clays.
to very dense. Apart from pollution The chosen grid is therefore much
in some areas, there is a large number denser and expected settlements are
of cable networks and pipes that make slightly greater. The CMC technique Sea Cow lake is north of the city of Durban
the project more complex. Ménard should be used again, further along in South Africa. It is about one kilometer
Soltraitement installed a network of the line of the road. from the Umgeni river that supplies water to
the 5 million inhabitants in the Durban district.
Although this marshy region is close to the city
Spain centre, it is almost completely undeveloped and
it is still a breeding ground for fish eagles and
Record abutment heights for many other marsh birds. However, things
are changing, and a new industrial centre is
on the motorway being built. Its promoters have worked closely
with the authorities to define a project including
the construction of several infrastructures.
Tierra Armada, Freyssinet's subsidiary 40 m wide structures are among the tallest These include a nine-span bridge now under
in Spain, worked on phase II of the ever built. construction to cross the river, the railway and
motorway bypass project for the town the alluvial plain. Freyssinet Posten, the Group's
of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Participants South African subsidiary, was asked to work
Tierra Armada designed and supplied Client: Canary Islands Motorway on this part of the project. The cast in situ
all materials for construction of the Engineer: Necso-Ferrovial Joint Venture prestressed concrete deck is 400 m long and uses
abutments with a total surface area Specialised contractor: 110 t of longitudinal and transverse prestressing
of 3 600 m2. These 24 m high and Tierra Armada S.A. cables. Freyssinet multi-strand systems were
used for the construction of this first bridge.
Another post-tensioned bridge called the “N2
overpass” crosses the existing national road with
its access ramps, and is now under construction
by incremental launching. Freyssinet Posten
is responsible for supplying and installing the
prestressing. The N2 overpass will consume
an additional 115 t of prestressing cable.
Apart from these two bridges, the development
program for the zone includes a service
station, industrial buildings and a prestressed
concrete bridge providing access to them.
When this work is finished, the promoter will
restore the marsh to its original condition…
in other words, like it was a century ago, before
man first explored it. There are even plans
to reintroduce hippopotami!

Freyssinet magazine 7 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 France

digest

Main characteristics:

• First construction date: 1839

• Bridge length: 263 m
• Deck width: 2.30 m
• Tower height: 20 m
• Number of suspension cables: 2
• Number of hangers: 88
 France

Agen footbridge

Rescuing
a historic
structure
The solution proposed by Freyssinet
More than 150 years after it was
consists of replacing the suspension,
and the tower and deck cable anchors.
This is a seventeen-month project.
built, Agen footbridge had become
too hazardous for its users.
After several hesita-
tions between destruc-
tion and restoration,
Freyssinet proposed
a compromise solu-
tion. A story of a repair from bot-
tom to top.

digest

Freyssinet magazine 9 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 France

bridge, and finally convinced the client

that a rescue was possible.
Therefore, a call for bids was issued in
1999 to repair the structure, and to main-
tain operating conditions of the former
footbridge.
This call for bids was unsuccessful, and so
another call for bids was issued the fol-
lowing year; Freyssinet was awarded the
contract based on an alternative solution.

An almost entirely
new structure…
In the proposed solution, the suspension,
cable anchors, towers and the deck had to
be restored to new condition, and the sus-
pended access spans had to be replaced
by simple lattice girders. This project
Steeped in history… required seventeen months of hard work!
The old masonry towers built in 1841 were
AGEN BRIDGE WAS BUILT IN 1839 TO CROSS THE then dismantled stone by stone and
Garonne and form a link between the town replaced by two 20 m high steel masts,
of Passage and the city of Agen. Its length of hinged at the bottom, and to which the
263 m makes it one of the longest suspended saddles were fixed. These new shafts were
footbridges in France. founded on micro-piles drilled through
Its first suspension used chains. This system the bottom of the masonry piers.
was replaced by steel wires in 1883, 1894, and The suspension was replaced by two
then in 1936. The existing structure com- 60 mm diameter galvanized suspension
prises five spans, including three 29.5 m, cables, to which eighty-eight V hangers
174.25 m and 20.6 m long suspension spans. were fixed, each consisting of a 16 mm
The 2.30 m wide deck is a metal structure diameter cable anchored on cross-girders
with wood decking. The suspension cables of the deck.
are supported on saddles fixed on 18 m high Furthermore, in order to improve the
masonry towers. Two access spans on the left structural behaviour of the suspension
bank are constructed of lattice girders. span (particularly for resistance to wind
and transverse stability), transverse cables
… but dangerous were provided similar to the cables pro-
vided for the Tours footbridge over the
The footbridge was completely closed Cher (magazine No. 210). These four
in 1997, due to aging of the structure cables are fixed onto new anchor founda-
and a number of structural problems tions fixed to the ground by active tie-rods.
(dynamic loads could not be resisted The lateral cables are associated with the
satisfactorily due to the slenderness of triangulated suspension, and apply a pre-
the deck). However, after loud protests load to it. Finally, the assembly forms a
from its users, the structure was opened to more stable and also less flexible structure
the public again under very strict condi- than a traditional suspension system, and
tions; no more than fifteen persons at a this arrangement makes new footbridge
time on the deck, closure of the bridge users feel safer and more comfortable.
whenever the wind speed is higher than The new installed deck consists of two
45 km/h. At the same time, design work beams made of steel profiles connected
was started on a solution for a new unsus- together by cross-girders parts. This con-
pended footbridge. figuration maintains the appearance of
slenderness and lightweight that charac-
Destroy or restore? terized the old structure. The deck was
constructed using tropical hardwood.
The announcement of the end of this The new deck was installed on top of the
familiar landmark in Agen was the subject old deck, and the new structure was then
of many local discussions. But Freyssinet used to dismantle the old structure.
had already had the opportunity to do The work was completed at the end of
some maintenance work on the foot- December 2002.

Freyssinet magazine 10 January/April 2003 - n° 216

France

… perfectly consistent
with history and the site

The general form of the new footbridge

is generally similar to the original,
although its structure is much more
modern, and the local population unani-
mously appreciates it. The “La Passerelle”
Association offered a stone block taken
from the old towers to Freyssinet during
the inauguration ceremony.

Participants

Client: Town of Agen

Engineer: EEG Simecsol
Architect: Stéphane Brassie
Main contractor: Freyssinet

Comparative study of deformation under concentrated load

Vertical suspension
Suspension verticale

775

Triangulated suspension
Suspension triangulée

533

New suspension
Nouvelle suspension with
avec
338 des suspentes hangers
triangulated trianguléesand
et des
câbles de stabilisation latéraux
lateral stabilizing cables.

Freyssinet magazine 11 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Romania

Cora hypermarket

40 000 m consolidated 2

and drained
In August 2002, Ménard Soltraitement was awarded soil improvement
and depollution work under the area to be occupied by a future Cora
hypermarket to the East of Bucharest, in Romania.

A
LARGE AMOUNT OF SOIL IMPROVEMENT However, the maximum possible treatment bearing capacity, if they are compacted at
and depollution work was necessary depth using this technique cannot exceed depth.
on the site on which the future 7 m for energies usually used. Therefore, it
hypermarket will be built. The area to be was necessary to use stone columns to rein- 4 months of almost
treated (40 000 m2) occupies part of the site force the soil at depth in the most critical uninterrupted work
of former brickworks that used sand and areas (in other words in areas in which the
gravel present in the soil. The brickworks depth of the existing uncompacted fill is The work was completed in four months,
had excavated a pit 150 m wide by 450 m greater than this treatment depth). due to the use of two stone column
long with a depth of up to 16 m. This exca- The load distribution induced by the piers machines equipped with 12 m and 18 m
vation was then used to deposit urban gives a good stress distribution at the vibrating needles and compaction crane,
waste, and was then filled with inert mate- top of the columns. Furthermore, the sur- at a working rate of 24 h per day and
rials so that a precast concrete element rounding ground provides better lateral 6 d/week. Eventually, more than 5 220
plant could be constructed and operated restraint on the columns, essential for high stone columns were completed at an aver-
until 1990. age depth of 15 m, with 750 stone piers
and 800 compaction impressions.
Soil improvement:
between stone piers Depollution by ventilation
and stone columns
Once the foundation problem had been
A deep foundation solution on piles dealt with, the bio-gas problem had to be
was initially envisaged due to the poor solved. Household waste was still decom-
quality of the fill, and the building would posing in the fill, and the accumulation
then have been supported entirely by a of these decomposition gases (mainly
beam and slab system. The alternative methane), under the slab on grade creates a
soil improvement solution proposed by serious risk of spontaneous explosion.
Ménard Soltraitement was based on surface The solution proposed by Ménard
foundations and slabs on grade. The depth Soltraitement based on the “venting” tech-
of the ground to be treated (up to 16 m) nique, is exactly the same as that used on
was the reason for choosing a hybrid solu- the Stade de France (in Paris outskirts).
tion combining the stone piers and stone This technique consists of circulating
columns techniques. a sufficient quantity of fresh air in the
The stone piers are an extrapolation of ground to be depolluted, to dilute decom-
dynamic compaction in which the ram- position gases to reach a concentration
ming energy is used to form large columns threshold per unit volume low enough to
(2 to 2.5 m diameter) of compacted granu- be sure that they are not noxious (for risks
lar material by “dynamic substitution”. of deflagration or poisoning). The result-
These inclusions will then support surface ing gases (noxious gases and fresh air for
foundations of the building and the slabs dilution) can thus be released into the
on grade. atmosphere.

Freyssinet magazine 12 January/April 2003 - n° 216

Romania

14 000 m of fresh air Participants

and intake drains
Client: CORA
This dilution is achieved by installing a Engineer: IBT
network of drains in a layer of draining Main contractor: Hervé Romania Srl
materials. The system comprises firstly Specialised contractor: Ménard Soltraitement
a network of intake drains connected
through header pipes to a pumping station
in which a negative pressure is created in
these drains, and secondly a network of
fresh air drains connected to the atmo-
sphere through header pipes.
The air is routed as follows. It is drawn out
of the atmosphere into the ground (under
the slab on grade) through the fresh air
drains network; it passes through the soil
until it reaches the intake drain network, in
which it is mixed with noxious gases; the
gas mix then passes through the header
pipes of the intake network as far as the
pumping house, and is then released into
the atmosphere.
The entire system is sized such that dilu-
tion is below allowable limit at all times
(allowing for a safety factor).
These networks will be installed under the
future building (40 000 m2) and will have a
total length of about 14 000 m of drains
(63 mm diameter) and 5 600 m of header
pipes (160 mm diameter). They should
be laid early in 2003 before the slab on
grade is poured, over a period of about two
months.

Principal plan showing the degassing network

Freyssinet magazine 13 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Australia

Sorell Causeway road bridge

U beams exported
to Tasmania!
Austress Freyssinet is participating in the reconstruction of the Sorell
road bridge-jetty in Tasmania: a first in Australia.

T
HE SORELL CAUSEWAY ROAD BRIDGE IS A Freyssinet is responsible Optimise the use
strategic part of the Tasmania road net- for specialised prestressing of prefabricated elements
work. This bridge forms part of the
Tasman Highway and is located at the eastern John Holland Pty Ltd designed and con- The contract deals with two separate work
end between Pittwater Bluff and Midway structed bridge No. 1 and its accesses, demol- packages. Work package A covered an 18-
Point, 20 km east of Hobart in the south ished the existing structure, and all the aux- month design and construction period for
of Tasmania. The bridge was finished in iliary work defined in the specification. John the new bridge and its accesses. Package B
1957, and at the time was the largest pre- Holland used Austress Freyssinet's know which began after the new structure was put
stressed bridge in Australia. Due to increas- how in prestressing, for technical advice and into service, is for demolition of the old
ingly severe signs of structural deteriora- construction techniques. John Holland was bridge and construction of launching slips
tion reducing its carrying capacity, the awarded the contract for prefabrication of for emergency service boats . The contract
Department of Infrastructure Energy and the segments and for prestressing of the was awarded on July 19 2001. Work package
Resources (DIER) decided to replace the U beam, including a total of eighteen 25.5 m A was completed on January 19 2003, and
bridge as soon as possible, in order to spans. The consultant for the design work the end of the project is programmed for
increase the total allowable load on it. was GHD, and Austress Freyssinet Pty Ltd July 19 2003. Prefabricated elements are
Therefore, the new structure will be a U- was involved as the prestressing consultant composed of a very compact concrete to
beam composed of prefabricated segments during the design phase. resist the marine environment. The prefabri-
based on the concept developed in France by cation site was installed on an unused area
Freyssinet and Jean Muller International. 4 km from the site. Austress Freyssinet pro-
This concept has only been used in France vided technical assistance and supervision
(where Freyssinet has built several bridges for for this site, specifically for fixing the rein-
road development authorities) and in North forcing cage and for installing cable ducts
America, so the Sorell Causeway bridge will according to the specified tolerance require-
be the first of this type in Australia. ments. The bridge consists of two 1200 mm
deep box-girders. The U-beam segments
were launched from the previous span, and
fixed with epoxy glue and temporary pre-
stressing. Permanent partial prestressing
was applied and the entire span assembly
jacked into position and lowered onto the
permanent bearings. Final prestressing was
then applied and the launching beam moved
onto the next span. The segments were pre-
stressed longitudinally and transversely.

Participants

Client: Department of Infrastructure Energy

and Resources Tasmanian Government
Engineer: John Holland Pty Ltd
Consultant: GHD Pty Ltd
Specialised Contractor: Austress Freyssinet
(VIC) Pty Ltd

Freyssinet magazine 14 January/April 2003 - n° 216

Ireland

Bridge over the Boyne

56 stay cables to
cross the Boyne River
Freyssinet Limited participated in construction of the bridge
over the Boyne. This is now the largest bridge and the first cable
stayed bridge in Ireland.

T
HE B OYNE BRIDGE CARRIES PART OF THE 2002. Freyssinet Limited worked in close
new motorway under construction cooperation with the Freyssinet International
between Dublin and Belfast. When it is Major Projects Department for engineering
put into service at the end of 2003, this will aspects, the methodology and procurement.
be the first toll motorway in Ireland. A joint The Boyne bridge clearly shows the advan-
venture formed by the Irish Contractor Siac tages of Freyssinet stay cables and the effi-
Company, and the English Cleveland Bridge ciency of work done in cooperation between
Company was appointed to build this 170 m Freyssinet, the contractor and the engineer.
main span cable The essential char-
stayed bridge. An acteristics of the
inverted Y tower Freyssinet system
supports the deck include fast mobi-
using 56 Freyssinet lization and high
stay cables com- erection speed, flex-
prising between 37 ibility and ease of
and 73 strands adaptation to Group
each. The hybrid requirements, adap-
deck is made of tation to the project,
box-girders made flexibility and effi-
of steel, support- ciency of its plant,
ing a concrete sur- and experience and
face layer. quality of all per-
Freyssinet Limited sonnel.
was awarded the contract for the supply and
installation of stay cables in March 2002.
Fast mobilization was a compulsory require-
ment, and within six weeks Freyssinet had Participants
installed the first pair of stay cables necessary
to stabilize the tower so that the group could Client: NRA
start launching the deck. (National Roads Administration)/
Meath County Council
360 tonnes of strands Engineer: Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting
Engineers
Freyssinet placed the 56 stay cables in the Prime contractor: CoentrepriseSiac / Cleveland
structure, including 360 tonnes of strands, Bridge Joint Venture
between September and the end of November Stay cables: Freyssinet Limited

Freyssinet magazine 15 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Netherlands

Real estate project

24 high
security houses
A new real estate project is now being built on the former Concordia de
Den Bosch football field, in Holland. This luxury complex called “Vijverberg”
involved the construction of 1 500 m2 of Reinforced Earth walls.
Between TerraClass A long lasting solution
T
HE TOWN OF D EN B OSCH IN H OLLAND
decided to convert the West bank of and TerraTrel
the town into a clean, high security, The estimated life time of this solution is 70
and outstandingly beautiful area. As a Two types of walls were selected to stabilize years. The sandy earthworks are reinforced
result, Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling N.V. the sides. 500 m 2 of TerraClass walls and by the use of 50x4 mm 2 galvanized steel
carried out the construction of 24 luxuri- 1 000 m2 of TerraTrel walls were built in eight sheet piles. The assembly is vandal proof,
ous villas in keeping with these values, on weeks of work and the end result is impres- economic and long lasting, and pleasant to
the former Concordia football field. Four sive. The walls were built at a batter of 10° look at.
units of six houses each were constructed from the vertical for aesthetic reasons.
on this site, and garden-terraces are sited Cruciform shaped TerraClass elements were Participants
directly on the lakefront behind the hous- used on the topsoil, up to an elevation of
es. The terrace walls are stabilized by rein- 26 cm above the lake level. A TerraTrel lattice Client: Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling N.V., Utrecht
forced earth walls. Three islands for wall system was installed on the lake, using Architect: Kuin & Kuin Architectens - Hertogenbosch
leisure will also be built in the lake and Grauacke natural stone. The top parts of the Engineer: Maasdonk’s Wegenbouw b.v., Nuland
will eventually be linked to dry land stone layer are fixed in place by a TerraTrel Specialised contractor and Supplier:
through footbridges. double wall that forms a safety rail. Terre Armée b.v. – Breda

Freyssinet magazine 16 January/April 2003 - n° 216

Hong Kong

Protection of quays

Kwai Chung
Terminal 4
Freyssinet Hong Kong is participating in the protection of slabs
of wharfs in a container terminal.

T
HE OPERATOR OF THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER August 2002, and installed a cathodic protection areas. With this concept, it is possible to consid-
terminal was quite satisfied with the on the underside of the concrete wharfs in the er generalization of the system to all wharfs. On
cathodic protection installed by Freyssinet terminal, in cooperation with Corrosion Control this site, Corrosion Control Services Limited is
nine years ago, and wanted a similar system to Services Limited, a subsidiary of Freyssinet doing the design, supply of specialised materials
protect the slabs of the wharfs in terminals. Limited. The protection current is provided by and engineering supervision, while Freyssinet
Corrosion of concrete reinforcement had caused flat anodes installed in slits formed on the con- Hong Kong is carrying out the supervision of
spalling and other deterioration that allowed the crete surface and fully embedded in the repair access works, concrete repair and installation of
penetration of sodium chloride. Freyssinet Hong mortar. Each part of the structure can be moni- cathodic protection systems. The completion of
Kong was awarded the first phase of the work in tored, due to the breakdown into several anodic the work is planned for the end of July 2003.

Portugal

Serpa bridge

Computer
aided renovation
Freyssinet-Terra Armada completed its first bridge strengthening project
using replaceable external prestressing.

S
ERPA BRIDGE ON THE E.N. 260 ROAD IN to Freyssinet-Terra Armada Portugal, which means of temporary sliding bearings, and the
south-eastern Portugal crosses the had proposed an alternative consisting of lift- expansion joints were replaced. Existing bear-
Guadiana river between Beja and Serpa. ing the deck using the LAO (Computer Aided ings on the concrete pendulum pier were also
This 400 m long prestressed concrete bridge Lifting) technique while changing the bear- replaced by a TETRON bearing sliding on the
with a total width of 15.40 m was built in the ings, thus reducing the construction timetable mobile abutment.
1960s, and is composed of two variable depth by about two months. Therefore, the work
box girders. A recent inspection of the bridge done by Freyssinet-Terra Armada Portugal
found severe deterioration of the structure; in included the construction design, and a gam-
particular, technicians found cracks along the magraphy campaign to check the actual posi- Participants
webs of the box girders, advanced degradation tion of existing prestressing cables, to treat
of the bearings, large inclination of the con- cracks, strengthen the structure by replaceable Client: ICOR
crete pendulum bearing on the sliding bearing external prestressing tendons consisting of two (Instituto para Construçao Rodoviaria)
side, and deformation of the profile along the 24T15 cables for each box girder, and finally to Design Office: Eng° Armando RITO
bridge. The Portuguese Government issued a strengthen the abutments. Due to the computer Main contractor: Freyssinet-Terra Armada SA
call for bids during the year 2000 for renova- aided lifting system, the bearings on piers were Construction survey: Departemento Técnico
tion of the bridge. The contract was awarded brought back into the vertical position by de Madrid

Freyssinet magazine 17 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Macedonia

Goce Delcev bridge

A strategic route
rescued from the water
The bridge over the Vardar river in the heart of Skopje has just been
renovated after a very sad series of hazards. The story of a successful
renovation operation.
A strengthening
A
TERRIBLE EARTHQUAKE WITH AN AMPLITUDE structure. The two parallel decks are 136 m
of more than 8 on the Richter scale long, with two 24 m long access spans and an without traffic interruption
ravaged part of Skopje in Macedonia, 88 m long and 17.8 m wide central span. The
on July 26, 1963. A project for reconstruction concrete box girder is transversely and longi- One of the first operations was to remove
of the town was drawn up very shortly after- tudinally prestressed by 12ø7 cables. asphalt from the road and sidewalks surface,
wards, but the plan was only progressively put and the structure was then thoroughly cleaned.
into application. One key element in this recon- Structural problems Damaged concrete areas of the deck sidewalks
struction was the construction of a bridge over were made up and all bridge fittings were
the Vardar river at the same location as the his- This bridge quickly became a strategic traffic replaced, particularly including the placement
toric wooden bridge built in 1928 that had route: it now carries 10 000 vehicles per day! of 72 m of expansion joints and 4 m of WOSd
been carried away by the 1962 flood. The new But when it was put into service, shear force type sidewalks joints. A waterproofing mem-
bridge was called the Goce Delcev bridge, after cracks appeared adjacent to the piers. The brane was also installed, although there had
the man who created the first Macedonian bridge gradually lost its camber, and the deflec- not been one on the existing bridge, together
Republic at the beginning of the 20th century. tion reached 450 mm in 2000. This degrada- with gargoyles to evacuate rain water.
The bridge construction work started in 1970. tion was accompanied by severe infiltration of Web cracks inside the box girder were grout-
At the time, the central span was supported on rain water inside the box girder, because of the ed. Freyssinet then applied additional pre-
a wooden falsework... that was carried away by lack of waterproofing. Thus, a strengthening stressing using four 19C15 cables, and then
a flood the next year! After this unfortunate plan was drawn up in 1994, started in 2001 installed a deck anti-uplift system on the abut-
episode, the bridge span was increased and and the constract was awarded to Freyssinet ments using four 7C15 vertical cables. The
steel falsework replaced the former wooden International and Cie. areas of maximum deflection were reinforced
by gluing carbon fiber fabrics (TFC) over an
area of 64 m2. All work was completed without
any traffic interruption.

Participants

Financing: AFD
(French Development Agency)
Client: Town of Skopje
Engineer: Louis Berger and PX Consultant
Main contractor: Freyssinet International & Cie,
in cooperation with Freyssinet Balkans
Design office: EEG Simecsol

Freyssinet magazine 18 January/April 2003 - n° 216

United States

Extension to the National City Marine terminal

“Vibro-replacement” for
earthquake resistance
An extension program is under way at the National City Marine
Terminal in San Diego, California. The new complex under
construction is located in an seismic area, and benefits from
the know how of Ménard Soltraitement.

M
ÉNARD SOLTRAITEMENT WAS CALLED IN TO Consolidation work
participate in the work to prolong the
Southern end of quay 24-4, which is It was considered of utmost importance to
part of the extension work on the National City improve the characteristics of the materials used
Marine Terminal in San Diego. This extension for filling the box girders and sloping material
work includes widening of the shoreline by under the pontoon using the vibro-replacement
driving sheet pile caissons and backfilling method, to stabilize the system and ensure that
behind the newly constructed curtain. It will the new pontoon would behave satisfactorily.
bear a pontoon extending outside the line of the This is a variant of vibro-compaction in which
sheet piles. The new pontoon will be built on ballast is used to fill the hole bored by vibrating
driven piles and will be 340 m long by 25 m drill. This method is used with low size grade
wide so that ships, each carrying more than materials, since it reinforces the soil and drains
4 000 European vehicles, can be unloaded. water overpressures through the stone columns
network.
Seismic considerations The soil densification work currently being car-
ried out is done after driving caissons
The work is done in the “San Diego and dredging the sloping material. They make
Embayment”, which is a sedimentary basin lim- use of the bottom feed system (ballast filled
ited by a fault. Seismically, the site is located on through the end of the vibrating probe)
the area of the Rose Canyon fault, the most strong potential for liquefaction at depths of up designed to operate under offshore conditions
active main ramification of this area being the to 18 m. The effects of soil liquefaction include (slope densification). The installation of columns
Silver Strand fault which is approximately 4 km loss of foundation bearing capacity and side is closely controlled during execution of the
to the east. Seismic analyses carried out based friction capacity, surface settlements and risks work using the Emparex System (record of con-
on initial geological records indicate that most of circular slips in submarine slopes adjacent to struction parameters) and offshore columns are
fill and deposits existing in the bay have a the sheet pile curtain. positioned using a differential GPS.

Freyssinet magazine 19 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 Poland

Wroclaw viaduct

“Incremental launching”
as a solution
in extreme situations!
Construction work on the West ring road for the town of Wroclaw
has been going at full speed for several years.
Designers recently needed to display all their ingenuity to build
a crossing over three railway lines and a road carrying heavy traffic,
using a viaduct.

T
HE FIRST RAILWAYS APPEARED IN WROCLAW and construction of the decks took 14 months!
in 1842. Several stations and railway lines The Freyssinet Group made an important con-
were built to satisfy needs arising from tribution to this viaduct: Freyssinet Polska Sp.
continuous development of the town in the z.o.o. was responsible for launching and tension-
19th century and then in the 20th century. These ing on site, under the supervision of Maciej
infrastructures break the town into separate Hildebrand. Freyssinet International and Cie's
areas and create major obstacles to the smooth technical department designed and produced
flow of road transport, which is why designers the drawings of the precasting area, the nose and
needed to continuously think of more effec- the incremental launching equipment.
tive means of constructing crossings. The
example of the construction of the Wroclaw A total pushing force of
West ring road viaduct is a good illustration. 7 000 kN
Two construction methods Different types of cables were used for construc-
tion of the viaduct, including 19C15 main inter-
Wroclaw viaduct is more than 600 m long. The nal cables, 19C15 external cables, 13C15 cables
twelve tracks to be crossed (three railway lines) for incremental launching and sheathed greased
and the road are distributed over a width of monostrand transverse cables for the top slab.
400 m, which is why it was decided to build the Each incrementally launched element is com-
central part of the viaduct by incremental posed of 27 segments with an average length of
launching, and to build its ends in situ. The pro- 15.5m and with a maximum length of 19m. The
ject actually included two parallel structures; one spans were incrementally launched in successive
for the East road lanes and the other for the West lengths of 33.5 m and were equipped with a 26 m
road lanes. The project was built using pre- nose movement being controlled by a tensioning
stressed concrete and used the Freyssinet C sys- comb and four RS230 jacks. The maximum total
tem. Associated work such as approaches were force during incremental launching was up to
cast in situ. The West viaduct is 624 m long and almost 7000kN! A single operator performed all
the East viaduct is 610 m long. The longest span tensioning operations, using a single control desk
after the temporary piles were removed is 52 m. for wedging the SL230 jacks. These incremental
The depth of the segments in the main viaducts launching operations are especially difficult, con-
is constant and equal to 2.5 m. A total of more sidering the fact that most parts of the viaducts
than 600 tonnes of prestressing steel was used, are curved in the horizontal and vertical planes.

Freyssinet magazine 20 January/April 2003 - n° 216

Poland

No disturbance to traffic required load capacity and continuity of the

bridge. Almost 370 tonnes of cables were
The construction time for each segment was installed and tensioned during summer 2002,
one week. This work included two phases: the including lubricated external cables in HDPE
bottom slab and the two webs, and then the sheaths. All cables were grouted using cement
top slab. The segment was assembled by pre- grout except for the transverse monostrands.
stressing with the previous element using six
or eight 13C15 cables, 24 hours after the top
slab was cast. Transverse prestressing was
applied at the same time. The assembly was Participants
thus incrementally launched above the rail-
ways and the road without disturbing rail or Client: Wroclaw Roads and Public Transport
road traffic. After the segments built by incre- Authority
mental launching had been put into the final Consultant: Mosty Wroclaw -
position and the external parts had been made Design and Test Office
on scaffolding, the keying joints were cast. Engineer: Budimex Dromex S.A.
Continuity cables were installed to achieve the Specialised contractor: Freyssinet Polska Sp. z.o.o.

Canada

The Clemmer Bridge

Emergency
reconstruction
Thanks to Reinforced Earth Canada's solution, the bridge providing
access to the city of Perth East was replaced as a matter of urgency.

T
HE TOWNSHIP OF PERTH E AST, IN THE were created and the half-sections of of 18 metres, is 300 mm thick, 5.5 metres high
South-West of Ontario, needed to replace TechSpan arches placed on them using two and 10 metres long. In the words of Mr. Glenn
the bridge crossing Smith Creek, a tribu- 165-tonne cranes. The building of the arch Schwendinger, Manager of Public Works for the
tary of the river Nith. Inspections had discov- took eight hours and the front walls were Township of Perth-East, “The use of this alterna-
ered structural problems and, at the start of erected on both sides at the same time. The tive proved cost effective and extremely efficient
the 1980's, the authorities decided new Clemmer bridge is now made of a precast with respect to the time frame for the required
to reduce the traffic crossing the bridge. This TechSpan arch and front walls made of road closure. Thank you for RECO’s contribution
decision had serious consequences for this TerraClass facing. The arche has a clear span to this success and the dedication of all your staff.”
major road leading to the town and
its 12,000 inhabitants. In 2001, the local
authority was warned that the bridge had
deteriorated further and that the public ser-
vice vehicles used for snow clearing, road
maintenance and fire fighting could no longer
cross it for safety reasons. It had to be closed
or replaced. The first solution considered was
to build a new 18 metre long cast in situ struc-
ture, estimated duration being three months.
The second option, consisting of precasting
segments and assembling them on site, was
chosen as the more economical solution. The
old structure was demolished and all the
materials recycled. Then foundation footings

Freyssinet magazine 21 January/April 2003 - n° 216

 France

Saint-Symphorien bridge

Express repair!
After a barge collided with the central pier of Saint-Symphorien
Bridge in Ancelles, Freyssinet was asked to repair the structure.
The drum beater did not slow down once during this operation.

T
HE SAINT-SYMPHORIEN CANTILEVER BRIDGE Three months renovation work the cracks, the downstream beam was entirely
was built between 1952 and 1953. It is a sand blasted and cleaned. The repair of the can-
twin beam bridge with variable depth and The objective for the upstream beam before the tilever span bearings included removal or demo-
three spans including two almost 50 m long end repair was to realign the bridge and redistribute lition of expansion joints. The span was raised by
spans, and a central span composed of two stresses in the area to be repaired. To achieve this, almost 1.5 m using a steel structure placed above
27.3 m cantilevers supporting a 16.5 m single the bridge was firstly jacked using the lifting jacks the deck, to enable complete restoration of dam-
span. There is a 1 m wide sidewalk on each side placed on the temporary bearing, placed under aged areas at the ends of the beams. The fixed
of the 6 m wide roadway. Transversely, the the cantilever in the central span; secondly, cracks bearings of this span were removed and replaced
bridge comprises two concrete beams with located in the damaged area were filled. After by stainless steel bearings, mobile bearing struts
variable dimensions stiffened by triangulated demolition of cracked areas and surface prepara- were sand blasted and metallized before the jacks
diaphragms. tion by high pressure water demolition, comple- were removed from the assembly. New road
mentary reinforcement was embedded in load expansion joints were installed after the opera-
The seriously damaged resisting areas in which the existing reinforce- tion was complete. The temporary structure and
structure ment was insufficient. The demolished area was its supporting elements were removed at the end
then rebuilt in three phases; reconstruction of the of the work.
On June 23 2001, a barge going downstream on concrete at the beam bottom, concreting of the
the Saône violently collided with the upstream web including conservation of a central keying
beam of the right bank end span… and serious- area, controlled compression of the beam using
ly damaged the structure: the lower part of the flat jack blocks and final keying of the whole sec- Participants
upstream beam was destroyed at the support; the tion. Most of the work in the diaphragms con-
web was broken and severely cracked over 7.5 m; sisted of filling the cracks. The upstream strut and Client: Saône-et-Loire department
the bottom of the downstream beam at the sup- the horizontal tie rod of the most seriously dam- Engineer: CETE de Lyon
port and diaphragms close to the deck spalled aged diaphragm were reconstructed. Before filling Main contractor: Freyssinet
and cracked, like the deck at the two ends of the
upstream beam.
The structure was put into safe condition in
December 2001 by means of a temporary bear-
ing by lifting jacks with a capacity of 300 t. A
gangway was installed in April 2002 so that
pedestrians would be able to cross while waiting
for the bridge to be repaired. Freyssinet was
appointed to do this work and the repair began
in mid-September 2002. In just three months,
Freyssinet completely repaired all the damage
caused by the accident, and also made the bear-
ings of the simple span and all facilities conform
(handrails, expansion joints, etc.).

Freyssinet magazine 22 January/April 2003 - n° 216

Spain

Motorway structure

Concrete for a
cut and cover tunnel
Tierra Armada, a subsidiary of Freyssinet in Spain, participated
in construction of a motorway tunnel in the state of León.
Participants

T
ierra Armada took part in the construction road tunnel was cast in place using a ready-
of a cut and cover tunnel near Villafranca mixed concrete truck, while the left road tunnel
del Bierzo, in the Spanish Peninsula in the was cast in situ on a 0.15 m thick sacrificial Client: Ministry of the Economy
State of León. This structure, 2 x 170 m long, is formwork with exactly the same geometry as the Engineer: Bierzo Group
11 m wide and 5.5 m high, and includes two precast end arch. The 20 m end of each opening Specialised contractor: Tierra Armada S.A.
inclined openings. The central part of the right and the inclined openings were entirely precast.

France

Faulquemont deviation

TerraTrel walls with

natural rock appearance
Terre Armée SNC was asked to assist Valérian, the contractor,
in the construction of eight road bridges.

T
HE MOSELLE GENERAL COUNCIL APPOINT- package was awarded to the Jean Bernard welded mesh wall panels behind which the
ed the EEG Simecsol/APAAR Group to Entreprise company. Both of these companies fill is completed by a 150 mm to 250 mm
be main contractor for work on the subcontracted earthworks adjacent to the granular material over an average width
Faulquemont deviation, as part of an improve- structures to Valérian. This is the context in of 50 cm. Some of these walls, up to 8 m
ment to the RD910 (Pont-à-Mousson to Saint which Valérian has been building side and fac- high, are vertical, while others are slightly
Avold road). The design of bridges produced ing walls made of rock-faced TerraTrel for inclined. Terre Armée SNC's work started
by the architect, François Doyelle, required use these eight bridges since July 2002 – obviously at the retaining wall design stage, and it
of rock faced TerraTrel type walls which is a with the assistance of Terre Armée SNC. has already provided Valérian with specific
Reinforced Earth Group technology. elements (surface panels, reinforcement and
After the call for bids issued in 2001, these Walls up to 8 m high accessories), and technical assistance. The
bridges were divided into three work pack- last work package for two bridges is now
ages. The contractor, Demathieu & Bard, was TerraTrel is a technology in which reinforce- being awarded, and should be complete in
assigned two work packages and the third ment is used in association with galvanized spring 2003.

Freyssinet magazine 23 January/April 2003 - n° 216

France: Faulquemont bypass
road in Moselle. For this
project, Terre Armée SNC
is participating in the design
of retaining walls, and the
supply of facings. It also
provides assistance for
assembly.

Photo: Francis Vigouroux

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