Harilaos Trikoupis Bridge
| Location: |
Strait of Corinth, Greece |
| Length: |
2.880m |
| Height: |
xxxx |
| GPS Coordinates: |
|
| The Wonder: |
Foundations lay 65m below the sea line
on a high seismic territory. The two shores that it connects
move away in the opposite direction at a rate of 30mm a
year. |
| Visiting Directions: |
By airplane at Athens airport and ride west to the city of
Patras 200km; By Ship from Venice, Brindizi, Bari, Ancona of
Italy arrive to the city of Patras. |
Spanning the Gulf of Corinth from Rion on the Peloponnese to Antirion on the mainland, the Harilaos Trikoupis Bridge is named for the Greek Prime Minister who first proposed the project more than a century ago. Completing what's now the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world required solving numerous engineering and construction problems, from sea depth to soft foundational soils to what geologists call "high seismicity" (translation: Don't hang anything heavy above your bed).
It comprises five spans, the longest of which is 7,390 feet, and is built upon "floating" pier bases that sit on gravel and soil beds reinforced by steel pipes -- both structural firsts. In recognition of its engineering excellence the Rion-Antirion Bridge won the 2005 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The project has a total estimated cost of EURO 750million, with 40% coming from the Greek state, 50% supplied by a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan, and 10% provided by the shareholders of Gefyra S.A. In addition to employing hundreds of Greek employees, the integrated joint venture constructing the bridge employs French engineers and management personnel, who provide high-level expertise and knowledge transfer, a value added to the Greek construction industry.
The greatest challenge for the designers was to build an earthquake resistant bridge (more than 7 Richter), since the site is at the epicenter of seismic activity.
The 2,880 meters (9,449 ft) long bridge dramatically improves access to and from the Peloponnese, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth at its extreme east end. Its width is 28 m — it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. Its five-span four-pylon
cable-stayed portion of length 2,252 meters (7,388 ft) is the world's second longest cable-stayed deck; only the deck of the Millau Viaduct is longer at 2,460 meters
(8,071 ft). However, as the latter is also supported by bearings at the pylons apart from cable stays, the Rio-Antirio bridge deck might be considered the longest
cable-stayed "suspended" deck. |
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