“This is a new project designed with revolutionary engineering that has now become the fi rst, longest SAS Bridge in the world that can
withstand the next Big One.” - Richard Humiston, Global Market Director of WireCo WorldGroup
Crews pull the fi rst of 137 strands that will make up the main cable, each of those strands is made up of 127 steel wires.
Copyright (2011) California Department of Transportation, Photographer: Bill Hall
Surprisingly, Nadar was studying civil engineering in San Francisco and was actually working within his academic building in 1989 when the earthquake hit. “T at experience had a huge impact on me,” he says regarding his work on the new bridge.
THE MAIN CABLE STAY T e entire length of the cable is one mile long, has a 2.6-foot diameter, and weighs 5,291 tons (10.6 million pounds) with 127 high-tensile strength wires contained within each of the 137 strands totaling 17,399 wires. Each strand of the cable took the construction crew two entire days to install. T e total sum of the main cable stay’s composition equals over 118 miles of 2 ½ inch diameter steel strands and more than 17,000 5mm diameter wires. Each 5mm wire alone can singly support the weight of a military-grade Hummer.
Copyright (2011) California Department of Transportation, Photographer: Bill Hall Once the cable was tensioned to support the weight of the deck
pieces below, it was protected with a series of materials to guard it against 150+ years of corrosion. T e cable was covered with a zinc paste, and then enclosed by interlocking galvanized steel wires, or S-wire. Lastly, the cable and suspender ropes were painted with a highly elastic noxide paint that would further protect the cable and allow for necessary movement.
THE SAS CONSTRUCTION PROCESS T e bridge’s temporary supports were constructed to support the new bridge in parts. “If it seems like we built a bridge in order to build another one, you would be correct,” says Jackson of Caltrans. T e bridge deck pieces were constructed off -site and brought to the bridge supports one-by-one. Overall, there are 28 deck sections of lengths
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE MARCH-APRIL 2013 25
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