A Concrete Cantilivered Bridge

Yardmaster · June 30th, 2009, 07:28 AM

I would be interested to know if anyone knows of any other bridges using this mode of construction:

The Geelong (Barwon River) Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct: Victoria, Australia

This bridge was designed and constructed by Edward Giles Stone & Ernest J. Siddeley, and as a reinforced concrete replica of the Firth of Forth Bridge in Scotland, it's a rather unique piece of engineering.

Constructed 1912- 1915, it carried the sewerage from Geelong to an outfall into Bass Strait from 1915 till it was superseded in 1992.

At 756 metres in length, and comprising 13 main spans (14 cantilevered pylons), it is difficult to get an overall idea of its size. It lies behind private property- farms and factories- in the suburb of Breakwater. Deterioration of the concrete is apparent in the image below:

Each span is about fifty metres:

Cracks in the concrete were identified as early as 1922. Although there is a substantial walkway on top of the pipe, Barwon Water (its owner) makes it quite clear that no access to the bridge is now permitted. The southern-most pylon is now supported by steel framework: and heavily guarded by fences and numerous notices threatening indefinite detention should one jump the fence ... note the patch-work on the lower right.

Yardmaster · July 3rd, 2009, 10:39 AM

Given the knowledge base I've tapped here, looks like this must be the only one!

ReiAyanami · July 3rd, 2009, 12:32 PM

Most probably yes, a very interesting design, never seen sth like that before! And it looks far larger than it actually is

Yardmaster · July 3rd, 2009, 01:40 PM

Double post: see below V

Yardmaster · July 3rd, 2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReiAyanami

Most probably yes, a very interesting design, never seen sth like that before! And it looks far larger than it actually is

Certainly not particularly high, but about 3/4 km long. My concern is the concrete is corroding: it should be saved. Especially if it's the only one in the world, and even if it was only used to cart crap.

idkblk · July 3rd, 2009, 06:31 PM

Interesting... I just know one other concrete bridge that is built as such a structure (framework... how do you call it)
The other one is in Paris
http://de.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?id=s0000379

Really difficult to built such a concrete structure... and not really reasonable to do it.. but well

Yardmaster · July 3rd, 2009, 07:54 PM

Interesting indeed. The Lafayette Bridge is indeed a reinforced concrete structure, but it a truss bridge, not a cantilever bridge (there are varieties of truss bridge, and I might once have been able to name this particular form of truss, but it escapes me for now).

Do you know when it was built? It looks reasonably and well maintained. Undoubtedly the same engineering problems involved in fixing reinforced concrete members together would have arisen here.

The cantilevered bridge which I started this thread off reflects the design of the Firth of Forth railway bridge north of Edinburgh, Scotland: I don't have an image of it readily available, but it was constructed of metal (steel tube for the big bits, I believe), rather than reinforced concrete.

LYNX · July 4th, 2009, 09:10 AM

Saratov-Engels bridge:

Construction stages:

Yardmaster · July 4th, 2009, 03:15 PM

That looks like a concrete cantilevered bridge to me! Can anyone confirm that the truss work is indeed reinforced concrete, not steel?

June 30th, 2009, 07:28 AM	#1
Yardmaster Registered Melbourne Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,847 Likes (Received): 45	A Concrete Cantilivered Bridge I would be interested to know if anyone knows of any other bridges using this mode of construction: The Geelong (Barwon River) Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct: Victoria, Australia This bridge was designed and constructed by Edward Giles Stone & Ernest J. Siddeley, and as a reinforced concrete replica of the Firth of Forth Bridge in Scotland, it's a rather unique piece of engineering. Constructed 1912- 1915, it carried the sewerage from Geelong to an outfall into Bass Strait from 1915 till it was superseded in 1992. At 756 metres in length, and comprising 13 main spans (14 cantilevered pylons), it is difficult to get an overall idea of its size. It lies behind private property- farms and factories- in the suburb of Breakwater. Deterioration of the concrete is apparent in the image below: Each span is about fifty metres: Cracks in the concrete were identified as early as 1922. Although there is a substantial walkway on top of the pipe, Barwon Water (its owner) makes it quite clear that no access to the bridge is now permitted. The southern-most pylon is now supported by steel framework: and heavily guarded by fences and numerous notices threatening indefinite detention should one jump the fence ... note the patch-work on the lower right.

July 3rd, 2009, 01:40 PM	#4
Yardmaster Registered Melbourne Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,847 Likes (Received): 45	Double post: see below V Last edited by Yardmaster; July 3rd, 2009 at 07:56 PM.

July 4th, 2009, 09:10 AM	#8
LYNX Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,784 Likes (Received): 25	Saratov-Engels bridge: Construction stages: __________________ .

July 4th, 2009, 03:15 PM	#9
Yardmaster Registered Melbourne Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,847 Likes (Received): 45	That looks like a concrete cantilevered bridge to me! Can anyone confirm that the truss work is indeed reinforced concrete, not steel? Last edited by Yardmaster; July 4th, 2009 at 03:38 PM.

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July 3rd, 2009, 10:39 AM	#2
Yardmaster Registered Melbourne Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,847 Likes (Received): 45	Given the knowledge base I've tapped here, looks like this must be the only one!

July 3rd, 2009, 12:32 PM	#3
ReiAyanami BANNED Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2,394 Likes (Received): 2	Most probably yes, a very interesting design, never seen sth like that before! And it looks far larger than it actually is

July 3rd, 2009, 06:31 PM	#6
idkblk -InQontrol- Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 222 Likes (Received): 1	Interesting... I just know one other concrete bridge that is built as such a structure (framework... how do you call it) The other one is in Paris http://de.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?id=s0000379 Really difficult to built such a concrete structure... and not really reasonable to do it.. but well

July 3rd, 2009, 07:54 PM	#7
Yardmaster Registered Melbourne Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,847 Likes (Received): 45	Interesting indeed. The Lafayette Bridge is indeed a reinforced concrete structure, but it a truss bridge, not a cantilever bridge (there are varieties of truss bridge, and I might once have been able to name this particular form of truss, but it escapes me for now). Do you know when it was built? It looks reasonably and well maintained. Undoubtedly the same engineering problems involved in fixing reinforced concrete members together would have arisen here. The cantilevered bridge which I started this thread off reflects the design of the Firth of Forth railway bridge north of Edinburgh, Scotland: I don't have an image of it readily available, but it was constructed of metal (steel tube for the big bits, I believe), rather than reinforced concrete.