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Bridge in China Wins Lindenthal Medal

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Xihoumen Bridge in Zhoushan City in China has been named the winner of the 2010 Gustav Lindenthal Medal, presented at the International Bridge Conference to honor “a recent outstanding achievement that best demonstrates technical and material innovation together with aesthetic merit, harmony with the environment or successful community participation.”

The award, sponsored by Bayer MaterialScience LLC, was presented during the conference this week in Pittsburgh. Presenting the award was Sharon Feng, Bayer MaterialScience vice president, business development, Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties.

The International Bridge Conference, presented by the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, also featured a Coating Session workshop sponsored by SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings. The workshop offered presentations on graffiti-resistant coatings; polyurethane and polyurea coatings; calcium-sulfonate coatings; polysiloxane coatings; bridge repairs with FRP composite materials; and standards for industrial painters.

More information on the coating-session workshop is reported in the May 2010 JPCL, Top of the News, and on PaintSquare.

Conference programs also addressed a range of topics related to bridge rehabilitation, protective technologies, aesthetics, funding issues, and other areas. Held annually in Pittsburgh, the conference is described as the leading event for the bridge industry in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The Xihoumen Bridge, in Zhejiang Province, China, is reported to be the longest steel-box gird-suspension bridge in the world, spanning 17,887 feet. The Construction Command Office of Zhoushan Island and the Mainland Link Project of Zhejiang Province oversaw the construction of the bridge, which is noteworthy in the areas of design, innovation, and long-span stability.

The bridge is the main component of the Zhoushan Island-Mainland Connection Project, which is comprised of a string of five sea-crossing bridges stretching for nearly 29 miles. The project links the Zhoushan Archipelago and Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province over the East China Sea.

Designed by CCCC Highway Consultants Co. Ltd., the bridge complements other bridges in the area and reflects the local culture, Bayer MaterialScience said in the announcement on the award. For example, the bridge’s Fuguang yellow color recalls ancient Buddhist roots, while its modern pylon and anchorage shape blends neatly into the surrounding mountains and sea.

The bridge employs many new design techniques and serves as a prime example of successful long-span bridge construction in a marine environment. One new technique employs a twin-box girder design that uses less steel than traditional truss girders and also provides better wind resistance.

The bridge deck features a four-lane expressway that soars more than 162 feet above the water. The expressway was opened to traffic on Dec. 25, 2009.

Gustav Lindenthal was a celebrated American bridge engineer, and is recognized for innovative ideas, vision, and foresight during the technology boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A spectacular example of his work can be seen in Pittsburgh—the City of Bridges—in the Smithfield Street Bridge, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and National Historic Landmark. Completed in 1883 as Pittsburgh’s first river bridge, the Smithfield Street Bridge is a double lenticular truss spanning the Monongahela River. It remains a popular passage today, serving more than 18,000 commuters and is the most heavily walked pedestrian bridge in the city.

Bayer MaterialScience is a manufacturer of polymers for polyurethane coatings, and is a supplier of key raw materials for the construction, automotive, and electronics industries.